It's Called A Brain
by fratcats
Summary: "I don't know about you, but I won't sit around and wait to die," It was pathetic; his eyes were so dull, lacking the life they used to have. He looked tired, L never looked tired. Ava never had any interest in the Kira investigation; now it seems like she can't keep herself out of it. It just came down to one thing, she wouldn't sit back and watch someone die L/OC LxOC
1. That's the Last Time I Drink

Chapter one: That's the Last Time I Drink…

**A/N: I in no way shape or form own Death Note and if I did it probably wouldn't be half as good as it is. I do however own my unnamed character… **

**NOTE: This chapter has been rewritten! Finally! I mean… it only took me three months… Hopefully with my work load becoming easier I'll have more time to rewrite the other chapters and then continue with the story. For those curious this update was made 10/30/11**

I held my drink in my hands looking down at it. I lightly used the motions of my hand to stir my beverage; I watched the clear liquid swirl around the side of my glass. Of course I wasn't _technically _drinking it legally, but what were they going to do? Take it away from me? Maybe.

I set my glass down and found myself wondering what I was still doing here. My friends had left hours ago due to the cost of the drinks here. The upside to this magnificent place is that they don't usually don't card their customers. The downside, as with most high-end hotel bars… their drinks cost a shit load of money- not that that was a problem for me, but my friends on the other hand…

I slid off the bar stool deciding it was time for me to head home. I'd noticed my judgment was impaired when I decided to stay here and drink, well more like stare at my drink, while my friends went home safely in a cab. I stood still for a few moments trying to get a good feel for my balance; I wouldn't want to be greeting the floor with my face anytime soon.

I felt quite a bit of confidence in myself as I traveled out of the bar and to the main lobby. Sadly not even half way into the lobby I found myself being challenged by the unusual crowd of people in the lobby. It seemed every step I took only brought me into the path of another person. It seemed I currently lacked to coordination to easily weave through the thick crowd of people at the moment.

I soon realized I was no longer even remotely going toward my desired direction, but closer to the elevators on the other side. My guess was that most of these people were trying to get to their rooms. Luckily I found an open space in the center of the lobby. I found a lone chair and took the opportunity to sit in it while I waited the crowd out. Next to me was a quaint table housing a fairly nice lamp and a hotel phone.

I sunk into the chair and stared at the crowd lazily, just waiting for something to happen. The only remotely interesting thing I noticed was a man who wore a beige trench coat rather than the suit that most of the men here were wearing. The man had caught my interest enough for me turn my head and follow him with my eyes. Unlike most the people in this room he stopped. He did not wait for an elevator and head up to his room. He stopped. There he stood a hundred or so feet away from me… He eventually lost my interest so I once again began gazing at the crowd lazily.

Another man caught my attention… strange. Not strange because he was a man or that he caught my attention. Strange that I hadn't noticed him earlier even with his odd choice of… well everything. The first thing I noticed was the mask covering his face. Everything else came through further observation. Though he seemed perfectly relaxed and comfortable his posture did not portray what I would find comfortable. The last thing I noticed was his intense stare… no he wasn't staring at me, but the man I had been previously staring at.

Something inside me told me to get out of this place. I tried to ignore my uneasiness, but it unrelentingly nagged at me. So I once again tried to fight my way against the crowd because I _felt_ like something wasn't right. I found myself just barely able to move toward the doors that would lead me outside.

There was a loud shout. _Wait… what did he say?_ Half the room stilled and quieted down, the shout came again, "I've got a bomb!" There was no doubt that everyone heard this time. The whole lobby became dead silent, not a peep. The crowd thought as one and in sync everyone backed as far away from the man bomber man as possible.

Of course _now_ the crowd moves in the direction I've been trying to go. And of _course_ I would be the only one thinking independently and not with the crowd, leaving me alone outside the 'safety' of the crowd. I was prepared to slowly creep my way back into the mass of people, but I saw the woman that the man now held hostage. Though aren't _all_ of us one of his hostages?

All alone inside the circle I searched for reassuring eyes, but no eyes would meet mine. My eyes connected with the women's panicked brown ones. Her eyes pleaded with me in desperation. I _couldn't_ step back into the crowd like a coward. If I stepped back in to the crowd and that woman was hurt I would never be able to forgive myself. I stepped forward.

I stepped toward the man to test reactions. The woman's sobs lessened and the man griped her tighter. She's his security. I could hear the low murmur of the crowd questioning me. "He doesn't have a bomb," I tried relatively hard to keep my voice from wavering and while I'm sure it still did there wasn't anything I could do but to stay calm.

"I DO!" Once again he tightened his grip on the lady, taking a half step back. He's scared, doesn't want to die maybe? _Does that mean he _does _have a bomb? What's his angle?_

"If you have a bomb, then why do you need a hostage?" I spoke my thoughts allowed.

The bomber man pushed the lady away from him causing her to hit the floor at the crowd's feet; luckily the crowd helped her up and pulled her to the back. I wish someone would pick me up and pull me to the back of the crowd…

The man turned his full attention to me, "I'll show you," he grabbed the buttons on his coat and started to undo them, proving my theory on brawns and brains… like liquor, they just don't mix.

'_Idiot' _I thought. While he was looking down I grabbed the lamp that sat on the table to my left. I took two quick steps towards him before I slammed the lamp down harshly upon his head. His hands shot up instinctively to protect his already damaged head. I started to worry when the lamp didn't seem to have done enough damage to knock him out, but when he took a few stumbling steps into a table, crashing to the floor and slamming his head on the hard marble, my worries ceased for the time being.

I could feel my heart beating over time in my chest. I did it? _Wait what was is that I did? Was I even trying to knock him out?_ _I knocked him out? I… wait what? _I felt like I could collapse on one of the couches and pass out right then and there.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the crowd. Whispers spread throughout the lobby and the room seemed to relax just the slightest. I became exceedingly self-conscious when I saw that each individual had their eyes trained on me waiting for me to make a move.

I walked a few feet toward the unconscious man wondering why no one had called to police to do this job. I kneeled down and undid his coat. And sure enough there _was_ a bomb, blinking lights with red and green wire, "Well look at that…," I looked up at the crowd, "he has a bomb," **(A/N: I don't completely own that scene seeing as the concept was originally used in Boston Legal which is a wonderful show) ** I felt my vision blur and my world started to tilt. I thought I was going to pass out. I rested my head on my knee for a minute waiting for the sensation to pass.

When it did, I got up, "Well I guess I'll be going now, someone might want to call the cops…and a bomb squad," I said gesturing to the unconscious man, "Good day and toot-a-loo and what not," I said to the crowd before reentering it and losing any eyes that were previously watching me.

I finally made it to the exit, this time without running into any bombers. I walked through the automatic sliding glass doors and into the cool night. As soon as I stepped outside I felt the wonderful cool breeze on my heated skin. _That is the last time I drink… ever. _

My eyes have been glued to my shoes for the past half hour as I made my way to my apartment which wasn't very far from the hotel… via car. By foot and at this slow pace it would be at least another fifteen minutes.

Lucky me, when I finally brought my gaze straight ahead of me I found myself temporarily blinded as a car passed by with his headlights needlessly so bright. I heard the engine turn off at the end of the street. If I hadn't been such a paranoid person at the moment, I wouldn't have looked back to see a heavy set man getting out of his car.

If I had had a hood I would have placed it on my head. I let my pace quicken in hopes of getting home faster. _I really wish I had the sense to leave with my friends… or to at least have called a cab._

Four blocks later I found myself looking over my shoulder. I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw the heavy set man was following me. _Oh god… what did I do to deserve this?_ I kept walking my head straight forward, what am I supposed to do now…?

I was getting the feeling that this man was going to wait till I went down a dark alley or got home, and I most certainly didn't want to lead this creep back to my apartment. Two blocks down I found a nice dark alley that opened up to a street just two blocks away from a nice park.

Turning down the alley seemed like a good idea. Waiting for the guy following me also seemed like a good idea. As you can see most of my '_good'_ ideas aren't very good ideas.

As the seconds ticked by I could feel my heart beat picking up its pace. My mind and body was preparing for fight or flight. I could tell that they'd agreed on fighting because my fear was muted and my blood was pumping.

The second the man turned around the corner he pulled out a gun. _Well there goes any chance of me fighting my way out of this one, I'm screwed up the ass. _

He raised his gun and said, "You hit my friend, now you're going to pa-" he continued to talk, but I tuned him out, I had to think of some way to get out of this.

Fear's muted voice was now loud and clear shouting to me that I couldn't fight a gun. Reason shot back saying I couldn't out run a bullet. I spoke without thinking, hoping whatever shit spewed from my mouth wouldn't get me killed.

"What are you going to do, shoot me?" I asked walking over to him poking the gun, "Shoot me then…" _God… what am I saying? I'm trying to keep myself from being shot! Not antagonize him._

I smiled slightly and shook my head; _this guy isn't going to shoot me,_ I thought to myself thankful. I felt two light taps on my shoulder and turned around to see what it was. I found myself on the receiving end of a punch; the blow landed on my jaw. The hit took me off guard and I fell on my ass on the ground. I looked down at my hands and saw that they were noticeably scratched up even though there was an odd lack of glass in this alley.

"Okay, I guess I kind of deserved that, being that I hit you first, but come on! Double teaming me? That's like cheating or something, aren't there any rules about stuff like this?" I said like a babbling brook all while getting back to my feet.

The new comer, the one I knocked out earlier threw another punch my way. I tried to grab it like I'd seen in movies, but I totally failed. My arm gave out and went sideways and the force of the impact caused my head to hit the wall behind me. I grasped my head in both hands letting a low hiss escape as I slid down the wall. "Well that hurt," I said not really caring if they hear me at this point.

There was a ringing in my ears and a hard throb in the back of my head, but I ignored the pain and forced myself to stand. The gun man had walked to the entrance of the alley to keep watch. I thought about trying to punch the guy in the Adam's apple, that's what they said in all of the self defense classes, and then kneeing them in the balls. I decided to go with Plan A and forget about making a Plan B.

I threw my best punch, but he seemed to be expecting it, he _successfully _grabbed my fist and twisted my arm painfully.

_Well shit… I guess I could always go straight to kneeing him in the crotch…_

I brought my knee up, but lost my balance forcing myself to bring it down; luckily the man didn't realize giving me another chance. Bringing my knee up again I hit him as hard as I could where the sun wouldn't shine for quite a while.

The man yelped and let go of my arm giving me an opportunity to quickly search the ground for a weapon, hopefully a sharp weapon like a broken bottle or something. And of course with my luck I had a clean Alley. I looked up to see the gunman had already ditched his post and was heading towards me.

I saw two fist sized rocks sitting oh-so-very-conveniently on the ground in front of me. I grabbed both of them and got up as quickly as possible. The gunman was getting too close for comfort. Without thinking I launched my first rock and missed completely. The man laughed as he continued to advance towards me. Now only a couple yards away I threw the rock and hopelessly hoped for impact.

That's when I heard a sound, I don't know exactly how to describe it, but I loved that sound. Half of the sound was the rock colliding with his face and the other half was the crunch of his nose. Instantly the gun man fell to the ground.

I forgot the sweaty bomber man and went straight for the gunman. His face was bleeding and scratched up and of course his nose was broken. Thinking about the impact, I flinched, "Rock to the face… that actually makes me feel bad," I said feeling squeamish, "Well, almost."

I turned around only to find myself face-to-chest with the sweaty one. I looked up seeing his angered expression. His eyes were narrowed and his brows furrowed, his jaw clenched and his face reddened from anger. I tried to back up, but his meaty hand found its way around my neck.

"Bitch, you're going to pay for that." His big, sweaty hand squishing my small neck. I coughed and clawed at his hand, desperately trying to make him let go.

When he finally did let go I thought the abuse was done, but I was wrong. I sucked in as much air as I could, but almost immediately after his hand left my throat it returned with gusto as it slammed into my abdominal. I doubled over with the punch, all the air forced out of my lungs, I was left gasping for as much breath as possible, "That's going to hurt in the morning," I groaned, noticing the faint coppery taste of blood in my mouth.

I saw the man preparing to swing again; I immediately looked down because I didn't want to see the blow coming. After a few moments I still hadn't felt the impact. I looked up to see…

**A/N: So how do you guys like it? Good? Bad? Please comment truthfully, but try not to be mean. I have feelings to! **


	2. What A Wonderful Night

Chapter two: What a Wonderful Night

**A/N:. Still don't own death note… only this meager imitation of it. Sigh… Enjoy!**

I looked up from my doubled over position to see the man with the mask _destroying _the overweight one. The masked man was done with the guy in mere minutes… 'Where was he ten minutes ago?'

"Thanks for the help…" I said getting up and wiping the sweat off my face with my sleeve, wheezing and coughing lightly, pain shooting up from my stomach from the point of impact. _Awesome… just what I need._ "Have a wonderful evening," I turned from the man who had probably just saved my life giving him a half hearted wave as I continued down the alley, towards home.

"Where are you going?" The guy asked incredulously.

"Home" I said plain and simple. I was thankful for the guy saving me, really I was. I mean, you heard me, I said thanks! But I've spent enough time around people for one night. All I wanted to do was go home, take a nice bath, and pass out on the couch.

"You're in no condition to-" the masked man was cut off by a deafening bang. Instinct drove me to the ground, but not fast enough. I felt a sharp pain rip through my right shoulder. I felt adrenaline rush through my veins and sprinted out of the alley faster than I ever thought possible, but my new found speed didn't last long- in fact I found myself slowing to what became barely a crawl immediately after exiting the alley.

I peeled away my shirt from my soaked shoulder, taking a shaky breath I looked down at my wound. I bit the side of my cheeks and let out a shaky breath at the sight; the bullet had gone all the way through.

Rain drops were falling around my body on the ground. It only then occurred to me that I didn't recall sitting down.

From my position against the wall I saw the masked man standing in front of my slouched form in his hunched over posture. I realized from the way everything seemed so patchy I was going in and out of consciousness. My eyes became heavier than I ever felt and soon I slumped forward toward my bent legs, welcoming the darkness for it offered no pain.

* * *

><p>I woke up feeling a gentle swaying motion that replicated that of a person's walking patterns. Opening my eyes I became aware of a neck directly in my line of sight. Turning my head I saw that attached to the neck was the masked face of the same man from before.<p>

By the time we got to the hotel he was staying at I was exhausted. I think it was a mixture of the blood loss, the loss of my adrenaline high, and all the running I've done tonight. It seems the crowd in the hotel decided to dissipate now that it was three o'clock in the morning.

The man walked to the elevators simply. No one got on with us, "Where are you taking me?"

"To my room," The guy set my down on my feet now that I was awake. I felt an agonizing pulsation behind my eyes that beckoned for me to lean against the wall of the elevator. I could feel my body banged up in various places, but it was my shoulder that was in the most pain.

"Can't I just go home?" He only looked at me, supplying no answer. "Theoretically speaking… if I were to stay on this elevator and not get off when you did, what would you do?"

"I'd make you get off," The elevator doors opened immediately after the words left his mouth.

"Well, since you put it like that…" I walked off the elevator knowing that this guy could and would very well make me get off the elevator. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs to the brim, "This is kidnapping!" I shouted on the top of my lungs. I hoped that maybe my luck would take a turn for the best and I'd wake someone up, preferably a cop or some other type of law enforcement.

I started to wonder why I was being so hard headed, I mean, as far as I could tell this guy wasn't trying to hurt me; just going out of his way multiple times to help me. Though, that didn't stop me from yelling.

* * *

><p>Matsuda turned his head towards the door, "Did you hear that?" He asked the rest of the task force.<p>

The Task Force turned their attention towards the door and sure enough they could hear a young lady screaming and yelling down the halls.

* * *

><p>The man opened the door to his hotel room and I walked in behind him still yelling- that is until I saw that he had company, "Can I use your phone?"<p>

"No,"

"What if I _only_ call the police?" I asked again, not realizing the irony of this statement.

"Ryuzaki, what's going on?" An older man asked.

"Well, this man here, Ryuzaki as you called him. Has become suddenly infatuated with me, and I mean, who wouldn't? Anyways he followed me down a dark alley and-" I was cut off from my tall tale.

"Ryuzaki, you can't just go taking people," One of the older gentlemen exclaimed.

"The old man is right," I said still a bit peeved.

"HEY WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD?" the older gent yelled a slight vein pulsed on his forehead showing his annoyance.

"I brought her here because of the bullet wound in her right shoulder, as you can see she's bleeding onto the carpet," Ryuzaki said calmly and surprise surprise there were a few droplets of blood on the white carpet.

"Don't you think a hospital would be better suited to take care of a bullet wound?" I asked incredulously.

"Watari is perfectly capable of treating all sorts of wounds,"

I walked away from where Ryuzaki sat and found myself sitting down on a bench my the window. I looked down at the street and saw how busy it was even though it was in the middle of the night. I guess Tokyo, like some places, never sleep. "What a wonderful night," I said to myself as I sleep washed over me.

**A/N: So what do you think? I know my chapters are kind of short... but they are what they are. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. You Ratted Me Out So No Part 1

Chapter Three: You Ratted Me Out… So No. Part 1

**A/N: . So here you go and I do hope you enjoy! Also I do not in any way, shape, or form own the rights to Death Note, however I do own my unnamed character.**

**NOTE: This Chapter has finally be rewritten, though it was hasty so I could probably use another go at it. I hope you all enjoy. For those curious this update was made February 11, 2012 **

I woke up to Ryuzaki nudging my arm in what seemed an attempt to wake me, "Watari will be up in a few minutes," In his hand was a cell phone, though he held it like it was contaminated or something.

Ryuzaki was currently looking at me as if I would jump out the window, his eyes never leaving me. I scoffed at the idea of climbing out a window on the 78th floor; if the conditions were better I might have though, if those conditions included the room being on the first floor.

I stared back at Ryuzaki wondering if he was aware that his eyes were boring into mine. I pondered if we were having a staring contest. I turned my body to fully face him, while keeping my eyes trained on his. I noticed that his dark eyes were surrounded by a thick layer of bags; _I suppose he doesn't get much sleep._

He seemed to lean forward as our staring session went on. Then he blinked. I shot up from the ledge by the window and pumped my fist into the air, "I win!" Victory was indeed mine.

"What is it I have lost?" Ryuzaki asked curiously as he scratched his untidy hair.

I looked over my shoulder back at him, "Why the staring contests of course," I said a bit confused; he was the one who initiated the contest in the first place.

"A staring contest?" He seemed curious in what I was talking about.

I finally took notice to the rest of the team; they were staring at me oddly. "What? You guys have never been in a staring contest before?" _Where these people nuts or what? What kind of childhood these guys have?_

The youngest member of the task force raised his hand and spoke out, "I have!" He smiled feeling pleased with himself.

"Shut up, Matsuda," A man with an Afro-ish hair cut reprimanded. Matsuda sighed and lowered his head in submission and allowing his smooth, dark hair to cover his eyes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Ryuzaki seemed to be deep in thought. He turned his attention towards me when he spoke, "I challenge you then, to one of these 'staring contests'," he said in what seemed to be a very serious tone.

I sighed and shook my head, "Why? We already played once," I was really much too tired to even get up, I wonder why.

"It seems that I am a sore loser," he said, "I will play your game, and I will beat you," His words seemed innocent enough, but I could tell what he meant was more along the lines of, "I will play your game, and I will destroy you,"

"Yeah, I'd rather not,"

"I'll let you go home if you win," he said. He really wanted to play that bad?

"Fine" I sighed exasperated.

"But if I win," He started but never finished his thought. I shrugged and we began our staring contest.

A few minutes into our staring contest and Ryuzaki still hasn't given up. His dark charcoal eyes bore into mine. I took notice to his huge and heavy bags; they reminded me of a panda bear.

I heard the door open and close and I wondered if one of the task force members had left. Sadly, it was the old man I saw with Ryuzaki earlier I could only presume this was Watari.

"Would you like me to start working on her shoulder now Ryuzaki?" The old man asked politely.

"Go ahead Watari," Ryuzaki said not looking up from my eyes. _Oh, so this is how you play Ryuzaki? _

"No!" I said hastily, "Can't this wait until after our game?" This wasn't fair Watari was going to make me flinch and force me to lose.

"Unfortunately Miss we need to get your wound looked at as soon as possible," The old man stated apologetically and not once questioning our 'game'. I could hear Watari shuffling through the bag he had brought up with him.

"You set me up," I was seething and now even more determined to win. Our eyes were still locked on each other. I could practically feel Watari digging through his bag behind me. I leaned closer to Ryuzaki hoping my close proximity to him would make him feel uncomfortable and cause him to blink. I got nothing, except for a blank stare.

There was nothing to left to do that would allow me to keep my dignity, but to give in. _To hell with my dignity, I want to go home! _I thought to myself, "So who are you anyways?" I asked him.

"Ryuzaki," he said, short and simple.

"What's in a name?" I quoted half a line from Shakespeare, "So who are you Ryuzaki?" I asked again. I had no clue what I was doing, I guess I was trying to give him a weird vibe and hope he blinked.

He didn't answer, he just continued to stare until, "You blinked," He pointed out.

"No I didn't," I said confidently all while cursing myself for losing and Ryuzaki for noticing. I just realized that Ryuzaki never fully stated his conditions if he won, and that could turn out badly for me… or maybe he forgot.

"Yes you did, I saw it because my eyes were open," He's just rubbing it in my face now.

"Do you have any proof?" I asked.

"I saw! You blinked," Matsuda shouted excitedly.

I turned around and rested on my hands and knees, "Shut up Matsuda" I barked, mad at him because ratted me out. I sighed and turned back to face Ryuzaki, I crossed my arms to show I wasn't happy at all. I decided to share with them all how happy I was, "I hate nearly all you so much-" I cut my words off with a gasp.

I could feel Watari tugging the needle and thread through my tender skin. I released a shaking breath, "Scratch that, I hate all of you," I glared over my shoulder at Watari, who had his seemingly permanent smile on his face.

After several more tugs and pulls at the thread and stabbing and mutilation of my skin, Watari finally tied off the stitches. I felt a cold sting when Watari rubbed a goo into my shoulder. To finish it off, he placed a bandage on my shoulder and taped it down with medical tape.

I glanced up at Ryuzaki as Watari blabbered on about what I could and couldn't do for god knows how long. Since I wasn't listening to Watari I didn't realize I had cut him off when I said, "You have cake?" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet and dashing across the room. In front of me was a beautifully simple chocolate cake.

"Well, we're all done now Miss…" Watari said.

"Thank you Watari," I responded, drooling over the cake in front of me.

"Not at all, Miss…" I got that he was asking for my name, but choose to ignore it. Watari brushed off my cold shoulder and smiled once again before leaving the room. I returned his smile quickly before I looked at Ryuzaki with needy eyes, only he wasn't making eye contact. His attention was somewhere else. I sighed giving up hope.

I thought about how I would have to get home, but at this point I hoped to god that I wouldn't have to walk home. My whole body ached and I guessed I would have a good amount of bruises when the sun rose. And quite frankly I don't think I could make it home before passing out from exhaustion and blood loss. _You know jumping out the window would a lot faster than taking the elevator, _I thought slowly, not even wanting to have to walk to the elevator down the hall.

Without saying a word I sat down next to a black leather couch and leaned against it, it was obvious I wasn't going anywhere tonight. I looked at Ryuzaki once more seeing that he was crouched in a weird hunched over position that didn't look the slightest bit comfortable. Still not making eye contact…

I sighed and shook my head and closed my eyes. _This guy never seizes to confuse me. _Moments later the darkness of a deep, dreamless slumber consumed me for the second time that night.

**A/N: I was finally able to force myself to end the chapter with a reasonable excuse… Well this chapter is going to be in two parts… the second part will be coming soon, I promise… I lie, I probably won't update till the end of the month.**


	4. You Ratted Me Out So No Part 2

**A/N: First I'd like to thank everyone for reading my story and adding it to their favorites or alerts! And an extra special thank you to those who commented… It brought a tickle to my heart! Because you guys liked it so much I'm ditching my studies for finals and I'm going to write this thing!**

**Disclaimer: Do Not Own! DO NOT OWN! So yeah, don't sue… **

Chapter Four: You Ratted Me Out… So No. Part 2

_Tap, Tap._

I groaned and turned over, thus introducing my face to the floor. I mumbled unclearly into the carpet "The fu…dge?"

I pushed myself up into a sitting position feeling aches and pains all over my body. I finally opened my eyes to see where I was and what had woke me up. The bright sun shining through the windows immediately had me clench my eyes shut. I opened my eyes squinting; hopefully they would adjust sooner rather than later.

Moments later I was able to make out the disturbance of my slumber, it was that hyper fellow… Oh what was his name again? I stared at the man trying to place a name to his face. I stared at him a few more moments before deciding to give up, "How may I help you?" I said grumpily, for one: I was not a morning person, two: I couldn't remember his name, and three: he ratted me out last night.

"Yes, well uh…" he cleared his throat, "Well L went to college, and everyone else went out for lunch and I had to wait here and watch you and-"

"Wait, L? Who's L?" I asked curiously, was he talking about the world's greatest detective L?

Matsuda cringed as if he had once again screwed up royally, "L? I never said L… I said Ryuzaki! You must have heard me incorrectly," he smiled slightly hoping he had me fooled despite it being obvious I wasn't.

"Whatever… doesn't concern me, but what does concern me is me leaving… so yeah. I'll be leaving," I stood up and readjusted my pants and stiff shirt. I walked towards the door, but Matsuda stepped in front of me causing me to halt.

"Yeah, see as I was saying is that I'm supposed to watch you and you can't leave," Matsuda gained a more serious and professional tone.

"Isn't this technically kidnapping?" I said walking back towards the leather couch, this time actually sitting on it. "Who are you guys anyways, Cops?" Considering the guy just mentioned L, they were probably cops or FBI agents or something like that.

Matsuda seemed to think for a moment, probably deciding if the information was classified or not, "I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to say,"

"So you're cops…" there would be no reason not to say if they weren't cops or working with L.

Matsuda sighed heavily and seemed to give up inside. I heard his stomach growl and all of a sudden he seemed determined once again. "I also haven't eaten since last night, and I was wondering if you would go out to lunch with me," I stared at him silently, "because I'm not allowed to leave you…"

I think Matsuda actually thought I was going to say yes, "No," I turned myself around on the couch and laid back, god I was comfortable.

"Wh-wha-what? Why!" Matsuda seemed dramatically sad.

"Because," I said scooting down the couch getting even more comfortable, "You ratted me out… so no," I now laid on the couch on my side, my back facing Matsuda. He quietly moped to himself; finally I sighed and suggested, "If you're so hungry, why don't you eat some of that cake?" I gestured to the cake on the coffee table.

"Are you kidding? If I eat any of L- Ryuzaki's cake, he'll kill me," I was starting to pity Matsuda, but found that I, in the end, would be better off by staying out of all of their business. I was also beginning to think L was a '_wonderful'_ fellow.

I felt that I needed to make use of the restroom and got up, "Where's the bathroom?" I asked walking around the couch and stopping. Matsuda pointed down the hallway, it seemed like he was going to say something, but I kept walking… sort of. I felt something tug on my right leg and fell face first into the carpet, once more acquainting the two. I quickly sat up and investigated the trouble, which of course turned out to be that I was tied to the couch with an extremely thick chain, the padlock resting against my ankle. "You _tied _me to a couch! Really? Really? The fuu…zz" I was pissed to say the least.

"Yeah, you see L _really _didn't want you to leave…" Matsuda started, but thought it better not to finish.

"Did 'L' also think it best that I pee on his floor? Cause I can guarantee you that if you don't unlock this you'll be cleaning it up," I felt bad for taking all of my anger out on Matsuda, I was mad at multiple people, not just him. Fatso and the gunman where definitely the main cause for my anger; that odd Ryuzaki fellow that won't let me leave; and most recently, the freaking floor.

"Well the thing is…" Matsuda said slowly, I assumed he was doing something like twiddling his thumbs, but I refused to look up and verify.

"They didn't trust you with the key?" I asked falling back to the floor, this time purposely.

"Basically," I felt bad for their lack of trust in Matsuda, did he really deserve it?

"So if you didn't have the key how did you plan on taking me out to lunch?" I asked curiously. I looked at Matsuda out of the corner of my eye as he seemed to realize the flaw in his idea as he chuckled nervously for a reply. _Nope, he deserves it._

* * *

><p>I groaned loudly and hopefully annoyingly for what must have been the hundredth time in the past few hours, "Are they done yet? I want to go home,"<p>

"It's only two, can't you have any patience?" It seemed like I was finally getting on Matsuda's nerves. _Yay… score one for me for annoying Matsuda, score 20 for the opposing team for tying me to a couch._

I twirled my long dark hair around my pointer finger absent mindedly. I sighed this time quieter as not to disturb Matsuda. I pressed my legs together tight as I felt the renewed pressure from my bladder; I stayed that way for a few minutes until the feeling went away.

_I'm hungry…_ I thought to myself rubbing my growling tummy; just one more thing to add to my list of discomforts.

**A/N: so it wasn't much, but I'm missing out on my studies for you guys, sooo take it or leave it (please take it). I hope you guys enjoyed it. I'm gonna try really hard to get more detail into the story, I just realized that this was the first time I even mention her hair color… And I decided on a name, Ava it's from Germanic and Hebrew descent and means life (ironic isn't it?) I also tried to start the plot up. I promise the next chapter will have more thought and effort put into it. Pease review!**


	5. Can I PLEASE Go Home Now?

**A/N: Screw studying! I'm on summer break baby! Before I start I would like to thank all of the people who left reviews especially **_**chiches zombie**_** because of her very detailed reviews that make me want to write at my best. I know my chapters are so short… But really this is an improvement for me; I used to write like three hundred words per chap instead of a thousand something or other. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing… **

**Claimer: I own Ava and everything about her and associating with her including character opinions and thoughts… so basically she's my slave. **

**NOTE: This chapter has been updated... barely, but still… For those wondering, I felt the need to rewrite the previous chapters before continuing with the story, so I could at least keep some of my facts straight and keep Ava from wavering too much on her personality. For those curious this update was made February 11, 2012**

Chapter Five: Can I _**PLEASE**_Go Home Now?

I checked my plain wrist watch; it read 3:00 pm. _I wonder what time college students get out… and how long does it take to get lunc-_

_**Beep**_

_** Beep**_

A loud and very annoying beeping interrupted my thoughts. I glanced over curiously to see Matsuda checking his phone. I looked down at my growling stomach and patted it lightly, "Do you have food?" I asked pathetically rolling onto my side causing my long, tangled hair to cascade down my face.

"So now you want food," Matsuda seemed happy to have a slim chance of revenge on me. "Well that was the rest of the investigation team and they're running late so it seems like you won't have food for another hour at most," Matsuda wore a triumphant smile on his face as he stood proudly behind the couch.

I just had to knock him off his pedestal. "So you are police then," I said wondering if he would even react. _Is he a rookie or just a really bad cop? _

Matsuda immediately let his pose drop and hit himself in the head violently and repeatedly; finally he took a breath and calmed himself down. Readjusting his grey work suit, Matsuda put his friendly smile back on; I was beginning to think it was forced.

"This isn't customer service Matsuda; you don't have to force yourself to smile, especially around someone who is irritating you,"

"I'm not irritated with you, but myself. It seems like everything I do, I screw up" he sighed taking a break from his cheesy moment, "I hate being a rookie,"

I wondered if I was supposed to comfort him and stop him from feeling bad, but he let Ryuzaki tie me to a couch so I decided against it and quickly searched for a new subject.

"SO…" I taking a huge breath, I eyed the strawberry cake on the coffee table, much prettier than the simple chocolate cake that has seemed to disappear from last night. "How much trouble do you think I'll be in if I eat it?" I looked up at Matsuda who was currently thinking about the outcome.

"That's his favorite cake, so I'd guess he would probably lock you in Solitary Confinement for a few weeks and fire me for letting you eat it," Matsuda finally looked back at me, "But hey, that's just a _rookie's_ guess," he shrugged. _He's really fishing for sympathy… to bad I'm fresh out._

"That's what I thought you would say," I said stared at the enticing cake, it was a truly beautiful cake. It had a white layer of icing with pink icing as the design on the sides and top. I eventually realized I was drooling and reached out for the cake. Soon I realized I was incapable of reaching it, so in the end Matsuda kindly handed the cake to me, "Thanks,"

I grabbed a fork out of my back pocket and dug into the cake; I noticed Matsuda giving me a look, "What? You don't carry a fork on you?" I asked knowing very well that no one except me kept a fork on their person. Matsuda slowly shook his head probably feeling better about himself as I made myself look weird, "Hmm… strange, my mother said everyone carried forks with them, maybe you're just weird" I let a warm giggle slip past my lips.

"You know Matsu," I said after swallowing the first bite of the delicious cake, "I still have to pee _really _bad," I took another bite groaning in content as the Japanese man starved.

* * *

><p>"Why?" I groaned, demanding an answer from Matsuda. From my position on the couch I couldn't see Matsuda, but I could hear him making his way towards me. I was currently laying on my side clutching my poor abused tummy, which was slightly aching from all the cake I ate. Because I had nothing better to do, I was exaggerating the discomfort.<p>

"'Why' what?" Matsuda asked curiously, now standing in front of where I laid on the couch. I was surprised to see that he actually looked somewhat concerned.

"Why'd you let me eat all of the cake?" I said tiredly, glaring at the empty cake tray on the floor by the couch. I suddenly jolted upright when I felt my stomach churn; I quickly pulled my hair into a careless low ponytail, in case I actually _did _puke.

Matsuda shook his head with a small smile on his face, "I told you not to eat it in the first place, didn't I?" he replied, losing his concern as he realized how much I was exaggerating.

"But you handed me the cake, that's like giving a pyromaniac some matches and lighter fluid and telling them not to set anything on fire," I said accusingly despite the fact my stomach didn't even bother me anymore.

I took another rubber band off my wrist and used it to tie my hair up into a bun. In the middle of doing so, the door unlocked. I quickly forgot about my bun letting half of my dark hair flop down and cover half of my face.

Now that I had most of my hair in or near my face, I saw that quite a few strands had icing on them. I quickly licked them clean and sunk into the wondrous couch.

The door opened and I was back on the couch relaxing. My disheveled hair was totally forgotten in my attempt to look normal. I peered over the edge of the couch and saw the task force. As they walked more to more into the room I hoped that no one noticed the cake.

"Hello there! It's nice that you could join us!" I said cheerfully. The task force just ignored me, and I now knew how Matsuda felt. I watched as the task force filled up the couches without looking at me, "Now how about you untie my foot?" I let my cheerful façade drop just in time for that last line. All I knew is that I _really_ had to pee and I _really_ wanted to go home. I also had a feeling that for some _really_ bad reason they weren't going to let me go.

"We're not supposed to let you go," The old man said solidly.

"That's easy for you to say old man! I've been cooped up in here all day with nothing to do but eat cake, fall on my face repeatedly, and annoy Matsuda, and I really have to _pee_!" I said taking a quick pause to take a breath of air, "I mean have a heart!"

The man's face seemed to get really red my guess was that his heart was pumping more than double time, "I am NOT an old man, and you can call me Captain Yagami-" Captain Yagami froze. He put his hand over his heart and tried to take a shuttering breath.

I saw the Captain's eyebrows crease, he seemed in deep thought as what I guessed would be pain, shot through his chest. He was having a heart attack. Yagami had previously been sitting in an armchair, but now sunk to the floor.

The investigation team quickly shot up and went to Yagami's side. The three of them split off to do different jobs. The afro man checked Yagami for a pulse even though he was still gasping for air and clutching his chest. The average dull looking one alerted the hotel. And Matsuda was currently on the phone with the emergency operator.

I sat in my same spot in shock, watching everything unfold. _How did this happen? I didn't make him that mad, did I? _I finally blinked for what must have been the first time in five minutes. I became aware of the intense glares I was receiving around the room, and I also took notice to the sirens that where approaching the hotel.

I leaned forward so I could get a better look at Yagami. Even in my shocked state, I hoped he was fine. What I saw as I peered into his eyes was fear, absolute and undeniable fear. I felt a stab of sympathy in my heart. _Does he think he's going to die? Why doesn't anyone say something? Why doesn't anyone tell him that he won't die?_

I hadn't noticed, but the door had been opened, so the paramedics would have easy entry to the room. A young man and a middle aged woman rushed into the room with a stretcher. They quickly took the passed out or dead Captain's pulse and lifted him on to the stretcher. I assumed the fact he wasn't in a body bag meant he wasn't dead. Average guy and Afro man flashed their badge to the paramedics; they nodded and rolled Yagami to the hallway with the two men on their heels.

I looked up at Matsuda who seemed very quiet; now that I think about it everything seemed really quiet. Was this that Kira thing they talked about on the news?

Matsuda closed the door that the paramedics left wide open in the rush to get the Captain to the hospital. After closing the door he sat down across the room and stared at me his face hardened with hate.

"Why so hateful Matsu?" I asked carefully hoping I wasn't the object of his hate even though I knew very well that I was.

"Don't talk to me, _Kira_" he said venomously. The harshness in his tone made me turn around and slouch forward towards my knees as I sat on the couch. I heard the clicking of buttons as Matsuda dialed a number, it was probably Ryuzaki.

_Wait… did he say Kira?_ I asked myself looking back up at the still glaring Matsuda as he spoke on the phone. _Why would he think I was Kira? I know I might have triggered his heart attack, but I didn't kill him, he left with a pulse! _I was so engrossed in my thoughts of everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours that I didn't notice Matsuda make another phone call.

_Is that why I'm here? They thought I was Kira? I don't even know these people! _I sighed to myself cursing my luck. I ripped my hair out of my carless bun and pony tail and let it fall down my back, shoulders, and face. I ran my fingers viciously through my tangled waves, but soon gave up finding it took to much effort.

_Why is life so complicated? I miss Russia; people don't accuse you of being a mass murderer in Russia… so far. _My thoughts lead to more thoughts, which lead to even more thoughts, and soon I was curled up in a ball with my hand around my neck and I tried to maintain a stable breathing pattern.

When I was finally capable of relaxing, I let myself drift off into a dreamless sleep knowing I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, especially after Yagami's heart attack.

* * *

><p>I woke up finding myself tied to a chair. Aside the stiffness and the lack of movement I was pretty uncomfortable. I shifted preparing to fall back asleep<em>- Wait…Why am I tied to a chair?<em>

I heard the soft buzz of something turning on. There was an electronic click and a voice was projected from what sounded like an intercom.

"_**I see you're awake." **_There was a click and the voice ended.

It seemed a lot like a radio conversation."Aren't you supposed to say over?" I said to myself.

"_**My apologies Miss, 'over'."**_ Despite being scrambled, the voice still had a sarcastic monotone to it. My guess was that the weird guy that dragged me here in the first place was the one speaking.

I hadn't intended for the mechanical voice to hear me. _I wonder if I'm still in the hotel and why is this guy scrambling his voice? _"Your chairs are very comfortable, but do you think you could loosen these ropes a bit? It's going to leave marks on my skin," I asked sarcastically.

"_**Miss…" **_I think the mechanical voice was indirectly asking for my name. There was a long and silent pause, but the voice finally decided to continue with what he was saying. _** "Do you realize you're under investigation?"**_

"Sounds interesting… What'd I do?" I ask secretly curious if this was really about that cake I ate.

"_**You're under suspicion of being Kira…"**_ The voice paused.

I jerked forward despite my restraints and opened my eyes in shock finding that I was blindfolded. _Kira? They think I'm Kira…? So this isn't about cake? _I let out a sigh grateful that he didn't know about the cake.

"_**And for eating my cake." **_I hadn't realized that the voice hadn't clicked off before. I probably just jinxed myself. _Why do I always get caught for the smallest things?_

"What cake I didn't eat any cake!" I denied too quickly. _Maybe that's why you never get away with anything…_

The intercom clicked again. "_**So you don't deny being Kira." **_The voice said.

"Oh… and I'm not Kira," I added sluggishly, not really caring _too_ much to defend myself fully, besides Kira wasn't a topic I liked to dwell on.

There was a click. "_**What is your name?"**_ The intercom clicked again ending the question.

"I don't want to tell you," It really wasn't any of his business and it's not like I did anything wrong. "Since it's obvious that I'm not cooperating with you, can I go home?" I did a few calculations in my head and I'm guessing that I've been out of the house for a few days and my poor fat and lazy cat was probably starving or eating stale chips.

Again with the annoying click. "_**You do realize that not cooperating is going to keep you here longer." **_End click.

"And why exactly do you think I'm Kira?" I asked actually curious.

The mechanical voice automatically responded, "_**Because Chief Yagami died from a heart attack last night immediately after revealing his name to you."**_

"Could you send my most sincere regards to his family?" _I wonder if he's really dead, this guy could be lying to me in attempt to trip me up._ "Actually, when is his funeral? If you let me out in time I could actually pay my respects in person, he was a nice old man,"

There was a long silent pause because the voice chose not to respond to my comment. I ignored this and continued spouting out words, "So why am I tied up and blindfolded? I've already seen all of your faces and heard all your voices; so why is your voice scrambled L?"

_ Stupid! Stupid! STUPID! This is why you always get in trouble; you never stay out of other people's business! _I bit the inside of my cheek in frustration.

The voice still didn't respond, "Well now I'm getting lonely," Still no response. "Hello?" Can you guess what? No response. "Hello hello hello. You say goodbye, I say hello," I muttered to myself, "Cingular, raising the bar…" I paused momentarily, "Hey is Cingular even around still? Or are they part of AT&T now? I can never keep up with them! It actually gets pretty frustrating," No response. **(A/N: I'm not sure if Cingular and AT&T are in other countries, but if they aren't in the States, they're a cell phone providers that keep merging and disbanding.)**

_For the love of- _"Ok really, I feel rather lonely now, so you win, I give up." No answer, "If I tell you my name will you say something?" I asked

There was a click. "_**And it is?" **_The cold mechanical voice asked.

I sighed and gave in, "My name is Ava, Ava Nadel,"

"_**So you're German…"**_It wasn't a question, just a statement, not even a statement I needed to here or comment on, but why would that stop me?

"Russian _and _German, if it's any consolation," I thought for a moment, "So now that I'm cooperating, can I go home?" I asked hopefully despite it being unrealistic.

"_**No." **_It was harsh and very forward.

"Well what else do you want to know, I mean there's not much information you can get out of an innocent person you know,"

"_**I only have one more question as of now; the rest of the information on you can be collected by my informants."**_

"And that question is?" I asked

"_**What were you doing at the hotel?"**_

"_Well," _I emphasized the word, "If you must know, the bar in the hotel doesn't usually card people, so me and a few friends went there to get a few drinks, I just happened to be the last one to leave."

"_**Thirty percent."**_ The mechanical voice said.

"'Thirty percent', what?" I was confused by the random input of a percentage.

"_**I suspect there is a thirty percent chance that you're Kira." **_The voice accused.

"And I suspect there's a 90% chance that you're lying to me," I accused back, sick of this man's accusations and fancy talk.

"_**And why would you say that?"**_

"From what I actually _have _listened to on the news, it seems that you've said that Kira need a name and a face," I had previously let my head slump forward, but now I lifted it in the direction I thought the intercom was, "But Chief Yagami only told me his last name, plus when the paramedics took him he still had a pulse, Kira victims don't leave with a pulse,"

There wasn't a response for a while; my guess was that I caught L on his bluff. "So what are we going to do about my situation? Cause I really have to pee." I knew he wasn't going to respond so I sighed and slumped, to the best of my ability, against the chair.

* * *

><p>"Okay, but if I wet myself, I am <em>not <em>cleaning it up" I said tiredly. L has ignored me for the past… well I actually don't know how long it's been, but it felt like a long time.

I heard a door open, "Oh! Do I really get a bathroom break?" I asked towards no general direction because I had no clue where the person was.

I felt tugging on the binding that kept me to the chair. Within minutes the bindings fell off of my body and I shot up and stretched the best I could. I tried to take a step forward, but as luck has it my feet were bound to the bottom of the chair.

I felt myself starting to fall forwards and I would have put my hands out in front of me to catch myself, but they where currently cuffed behind my back. Can anyone say, 'hello floor'?

Suddenly I felt my collar digging into my neck and someone grasped onto the back of my shirt to keep me from falling. I sighed in relief, but immediately tensed again as a few of my buttons broke from the strain. Luckily the person got me all the way up before all of the buttons broke.

Once in a non-dangerous up-right position the person, who has yet to say a word, released my foot bindings. I felt a hand on my upper back pushing my forward a bit. I took the hint and started to walk forward, the person put both hands on my shoulder and lead me through a mess of hallways.

As we walked to what I hopped was a bathroom the man finally decided to speak, "I'm sorry for being so rude to you last night," It was Matsuda. _So I was right, Yagami isn't dead after all!_

"So Chief Yagami isn't dead then? I guess I am pretty amazing… aren't I?" I smiled up at where I thought Matsuda's face would be. I paused for a moment and thought about both of our situations, "God I feel bad for you, I haven't bathed for like three days or something, I must reek! Am I allowed to shower? Or is that against the rules?" I started my own little game of 'let's see how many questions I can ask before Matsuda gets annoyed'.

"Here we are, have fun" Matsuda said pushing me into the bathroom and closing the door. My guess was that I either smelt really _really_ bad or I had already annoyed Matsuda to a great extent, in order to protect my ego from damage, I assumed the latter.

I stood in place for a minute trying to figure out what I was supposed to do because currently I was standing in complete darkness with my hands cuffed behind my back. "Hey Matsuda…?" I asked slowly, stretching out the 'A' in his name.

"Huh?" he said through the door. I personally had a mental image of him crossing his arms and looking bored.

"How am I supposed to find the toilet with the blindfold on?" I asked

"Oh…" I heard the door open and Matsuda take the blind fold off.

I opened my eyes and everything was bright, like super bright so I squinted. "Thanks Matsuda-" I was going to ask him to take the cuffs off, but he closed the door again, "Hey Matsuda?" I called again, stretching the 'A' out just the same as before.

"Yes?"

"I'd really rather wipe myself than have you do it for me… so could you take these cuffs off?"

Matsuda didn't answer this time, but merely opened the door and motioned for me to turn around. I looked over my shoulder as he undid my cuffs and I could see the blush on his face. Matsuda was about the leave but stopped "Is there anything you need before I close this door again?"

"_Well…_Now that you've asked… a new shirt would be nice," I said looking down at my crusty blood stained shirt, which now, thanks to Matsuda, was missing four buttons.

"I'll see if I can find one," he said closing the door behind himself.

I was about to get to my business when I thought of something, "Hey Matsuda?" I asked hoping he hadn't left in search of a shirt yet.

"What?" It seemed like luck was temporarily on my side, "Can you feed my cat?"

**A/N: So this is most defiantly one of my longer chapters… nine pages on my word doc… and almost 4,000 words… I am proud if I do say so myself. Sorry this update took so long, I went to an anime convention (dweebish I know) and it was a lot of fun :B … anyways I got more into the story line, I think. I have a plan for the next chapter (lie) and hopefully it'll be done pretty fast. Please review! :O I really would appreciate it. **


	6. I Thought It Was Kinky?

**A/N: Hey you guys! Sorry it took so long to crack this chapter out… I just kept getting distracted by the smallest things. It was rather frustrating. ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I didn't own Death Note the last 5 chapters so why would I own it now?**

Chapter Six: I Thought It Was Kinky…?

"Your _cat_?" I could hear the skepticism in Matsuda's voice through the door.

"Yes, my cat," I felt awkward speaking through the door. _Why doesn't one of us just open it? _

"And where is your 'cat'," Matsuda asked still skeptical. _Is it so hard to believe that I have a cat?_

"My apartment, where else?" I asked, digging through my pockets for my key. Along with finding my keys, I found my wallet was gone.

I opened the bathroom door and handed Matsuda my keys, "Okay, let me get this straight, you take my wallet, but you don't take my keys? What kind of cops are you? Don't you know that key's can be used as a weapon, especially when in the right hands?"

Matsuda seemed to fumble for some sort of response, but ended up empty handed, "Anyways, his name is Slippers, he's a very grumpy, fat cat," I grabbed Matsuda's arm and grabbed a fancy pen I saw in his pocket. I wrote down my address and left Matsuda with a warning, "Don't try and pet Slippers, if you do it won't end well for you," I smiled slightly.

Before Matsuda could respond I shut the door on his face and began to disrobe for my shower. I couldn't wait to get my greasy, knotted hair washed and refreshed and I could say the same about my grimy skin.

* * *

><p>I stepped out of the shower and covered my nude self with a pure white towel that was longer than I was tall. After finally relieving my bladder and taking a wonderful hot shower, I felt great, like a million bucks. I felt so amazing that I let myself sigh in content.<p>

A few steps forward and I found my self standing on my putrid, blood crusted clothes. My happiness instantly shattered when I realized I would have to put these back on. _I rather walk around in this towel than put those disgusting things back on._

A thought struck me; _Matsuda said he would look for a shirt!_ I walked to the door, "Hey Matsuda?" I called, but was answer with only silence. "Matsuda?"I called again, this time unlocking and cracking the door open a bit. "Matsuda?" I said looking outside the bathroom, still only covered with the giant towel.

I stepped out of the bathroom and saw a knocked over brown paper bag with a white shirt spilling out of it. I picked up the bag, glad that Matsuda had gotten me a shirt. I reentered the bathroom and once again locked the door.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Matsuda<strong>

I looked down at the address Ava had scribbled down on my palm. I looked up at the number on her apartment and saw that it was the same. I sighed in disbelief, how was this girl even possible? She always knew what to say and how to make you me tick and she was unbelievably young and living in a place like this? _I wish my pay check was as big as hers, _I thought sighing enviously.

Grabbing the key out of my pocket I unlocked the door. Upon entering her apartment I saw something completely different than I expected. The building that Ava lived in was pricey and expensive, but her actual apartment was an average, warm, and cozy living space. Something that felt like it was meant for a happy go lucky family of four, but was apparently only inhabited by her and a cat.

Walking through her home, I found that her walls were beautifully yet simply painted and covered by many photos. I shrugged off the odd feeling I had and decided to enjoy the coziness.

When I finally found Ava's kitchen I was able to see the expensive taste that was provided by the building. All the appliances where stainless steel this and high quality that. The counters were covered with an over the top granite. All the fancy things that inhabited the kitchen stuck out like a sore thumb when compared to the rest of her furniture.

I shook my head and walked towards the pantry that supposedly held the cat food. I opened the door and couldn't help but let my mouth drop. The whole pantry from top to bottom was filled with expensive cat food that cost more than my pay check. _How can someone so young afford all of this? Did she win a lottery or something?_

I decided to hurry up and get out of here as fast as I possibly could. I grabbed a small bag of cat food and went on my search for the food bowl. As I walked down the hallway I continued to notice the oddness of her pictures. Upon closer inspection I found that the pictures were of people who didn't seem to have any relation to Ava at all. In fact, there wasn't a single picture of Ava.

At the end of the hall was a room with a cat door, while all the rooms had cat doors, this one just shouted out "I'm special! So the cat lives here!"

I opened the door and I couldn't help but let my jaw drop again. This was like kitty heaven; there were fancy kitty toys, lots of cat furniture, and a catnip plant. And off in the corner was a desk where the pampered kitty slept, ignoring all the toys.

Next to the chubby tabby was the cat food bowl. I looked at the bowl and found that it was empty. I immediately felt bad because he was probably starving the past few days. I made my way over to him and stepped on a bag, causing it to crinkle. I picked up said bag and saw it was an empty bag of tortilla chips; _the fat bastard was eating stale chips_.

I opened the small bag of cat food and poured it into the fancy bowl. The smell of the food must have woken the cat up because the cat was standing upright, devouring the food I had just poured in the bowl.

I sat the bag down and leaned it against the desk. I decided to ignore Ava when she told me not the pet the cat, since she ignored me about the cake. Anyways it's not like the cat was going to tell on me or anything.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Ava<strong>

I was glad Matsuda was so thoughtful, but this might have been just a tad much. He got me more than just a shirt; he got me pants… and a pair of plaid boxers that I had no intention of wearing.

I kept my bra and panties and ignored the boxers I pulled on the white shirt and found that it was a bit big. Upon pulling on his pants I found that they were far too big in the leg department, but just a bit loose in the hip department. I kneeled down so I cloud roll up the pants leg, but soon gave up finding it too much of a hassle.

_His clothes smell nice…_ I thought as I shoved my disheveled clothing into the bag along with Ryuzaki's boxers. I stood up and exited the bathroom with one pants leg practically dragging behind me and the other rolled up to my lower calf. _I wonder if Ryuzaki has a brush I could borrow. _I would just tie my wet hair into a low pony tail until I could find a brush.

* * *

><p>I walked into the living room finding it dark with the exception of a few glowing monitors and a computer screen. <em>I could have sworn it was lunch time… <em>I thought rubbing my grumbling tummy, _I wonder if he has anymore cake._

I saw Ryuzaki or L as I've recently found out slouched in his awkward position in front of the screens. The little light provided allowed me to see the wonderful cake that was sitting off to the side pre-cut. I could hear it calling for me.

I grabbed the slice of cake and stood behind Ryuzaki watching the monitor. On the monitor was a boy about my age sleeping in a sitting position in solitary confinement with his hands cuffed, in the corner of the screen it read 'Day Six, Hour 12'.

"That's not fair! Why doesn't he have to be blindfolded?" I asked L, before taking the first bite of what turned out to be chocolate cake. _If I were to die right now, I would _not_ be content… but five minutes from now after I finish this cake… maybe._

I guess Ryuzaki already knew I was there, "Because he's already seen my face…" He looked away from the screen momentarily and saw that I was eating his cake.

"I saw your face too you know," I was becoming quite skeptical of this guy, I just really didn't know _what _to think of this one.

"I thought it was… kinky?"He seemed unsure with his use of the word.

Unluckily for me he said that right as I was swallowing, I choked a bit and coughed dislodging the chewed up cake from my throat. While I was in the middle of my choking fit, Ryuzaki just took the cake from my possession.

I glared lightly at him before saying, "I need to make a list,"

"Why do you need a list?" he asked curiously.

"So I know what to charge you with when I get out of here… So far I have kidnapping and sexual harassment, I think it's a pretty good list," His eyes were glued to the screen searching for something, "Did I miss anything?" I asked.

"You're wearing my clothes," he stated, disregarding my previous comment.

"I am quite aware of that," I responded losing interest in both the conversation and the monitors, I thought for a moment before adding, "I thought it was _kinky_," I looked at Ryuzaki searching for a response, but all he did was glance at me and set the cake down.

"So can I leave-" I didn't even get to finish thanks to Ryuzaki's interrupting ways.

"No." he interrupted.

"But the door is right there, I can show myself-"

"No."

"Really though, it isn't a problem-" He cut me off with another no, but I got up and headed towards the door anyways.

"Do recall what I said before?" he asked

I readjusted my-err his pants, "Uh… Sorry I let my butler stab you in the shoulder with a needle; can I tie you to a couch?" I mocked him.

"If you go out that door I'll just drag you back," he both corrected and threatened me. I merely shrugged and took the last few steps towards the door and turned the knob, "And instead of tying you to a couch or chair, I'll cuff you to me," my hand froze where it was.

"What are the chances of me out running you?" I asked knowing _if_ I had a realistic chance he still wouldn't tell me.

"Five percent," he still hadn't broken eye contact with the computer screen.

"And my chances of running away without tearing my stitches?"

"Twenty-five percent that includes the percentage of you getting caught," He still hadn't looked away from the screen.

I sat on the floor next to him giving up on the idea of leaving; I took a nice long sniff of the shirt I was currently wearing. When I looked up I saw Ryuzaki staring at me oddly, "What type of detergent do you use? I wish my clothes could smell like this!" I announced loudly.

"I wouldn't know… Watari deals with the laundry… or the people who do laundry," he responded.

From my spot on the floor I could see the cake that Ryuzaki had sat down. I tried to be sly as I made a move for it, but it was no use. Ryuzaki pulled the cake out of my reach I looked up to see Ryuzaki holding it possessively. I gave up on that and let myself fall on my back.

"Ugh! You could share you know! I feel like I haven't eaten for a week," I complained resting my hands on my growling stomach.

"Three days actually," he said slowly leaning closer to the monitor as if searching for some small detail.

"Three days! You really were trying to starve my cat! Weren't you?" I said slightly annoyed with the evenness of this guy's tone. He really didn't have a heart.

"You haven't eaten for three days and your worried about your _cat_?" he asked curiously, I think he may have also been questioning my intelligence. "By the way," he said changing the subject, "What happened to Matsuda, he's supposed to be watching you."

I decided to ignore his jab at my intelligence and answer his question, "I sent him to feed my cat," I looked up at him, "You know, the one you were _starving_?" I wasn't that worried, Matsuda should have fed him by now.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Matsuda<strong>

_That cat is an evil demon! _I thought as I cleaned my many scratches and bite marks I had received from the cat. I felt bad for using all of Ava's first aid stuff, but her cat mauled me.

_I guess I should have listened to her,_ I sighed looking at myself in the mirror. It wasn't _that _bad, I had a claw mark on my cheek that was now covered by a bandage, and a bite mark on my chin. Upon looking at my suite, I flinched. It looked like it was used as the cat's scratch board. _I hate that vicious litter bugger. _

I cleaned up the mess I had made in Ava's bathroom and turned the light off. I walked down and out of the hallway so I could get the hell out of this apartment. When I opened the door, i turned to make sure Slippers wasn't going to run out if he happened to leave the room. I saw the evil creature glaring at me from the hallway and quickly shut the door and quickly locked it.

"Never again," I said to myself vowing to never step a foot into the apartment after this night.

* * *

><p><strong>POV Ava<strong>

I saw my wallet just ready to fall out of Ryuzaki's pocket. I reached out for it and removed it from his pocket, "So if you had my wallet, which has _both_ of my ID's, why did you need my name?" I asked curiously, since Matsuda didn't give me an answer.

"I thought it might have been a fake ID because you were drinking,"

"Who carries two fake ID's with them?" I asked incredulously.

"And just who carries a fork in their pocket?" Ryuzaki countered.

"I do, and guess what?" I said picking the cake up off the desk where he had sat it down, "It's come in handy now twice in these three days," I took a bite of his cake with my fork.

There was only two bites left of the precious cake and I planned on savoring them. Just as I was about to use the side of my fork to split it in half, Ryuzaki's foreign fork stole the whole thing. I looked up devastated as I saw him put the whole thing in his mouth. "Ryuzaki, you are a cruel and sadistic man,"

He simply shrugged and continued chewing up the delicious cake that should have been mine. Ryuzaki turned back to the screen he was so engrossed with and watched.

I got on my knees and leaned on the desk to watch along with L. "So who is this poor sap anyways? And why has he been tied up like that for six day? He must smell really bad… Do you let him bathe?"

"He's a college student," L stated simply, I didn't think he was going to say anything more, but he did. "He's been in there for six days because he admitted to him being Kira a possibility,"

"Well if he says he's Kira why can't you just take his word for it and let me go home?" I asked with a sigh.

"Because he didn't admit to being Kira, he just admitted that there was a possibility," As soon as these words left his mouth I fell flat on my back exasperated.

"Well why am I here? Yagami is alive!" I exclaimed thoroughly frustrated. "I wonder if this is eating into my sick days…. What about my vacation time? I wonder if I'll lose my job?" I looked at the monitor and saw it changed to another person, "I really hate my job,"

I propped myself up with my elbows when I heard the door open. It was Matsuda and he was all scratched up, "Hello Matsuda!" I called across the room dropping my previous thoughts, "I see you didn't listen to me," I chuckled lightly. _I knew he wouldn't…_

"Your cat is a demon," he grumbled quietly as he sat my keys on a table, "I'm going home," the door closed and with that the room was quiet again, aside from the humming of the computer.

The person now currently taking up the screen was a woman that seemed maybe a year or two older than me. She was currently sleeping, standing upright, with drool hanging out of her mouth. She too was blindfolded, "Did you blindfold her because you thought it was kinky too?" I asked, making fun at Ryuzaki.

**A/N: Okay so I know this chapter wasn't that great, it was all over the place. I decided to experiment with multiple view points, but I don't think I'll be doing that again. *sigh* I'm kind of scared I'll receive a nasty review… well, I hope you enjoyed!**


	7. Just a Small Smile

**A/N: First of all I'd like to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter up… I've been under a lot of stress because someone broke into my house and stole my stove… yes my **_**stove.**_

**Also, I realized there was a hole in the plot of my story. I got side tracked and didn't think about the time enough. But because I'm lazy and no one has pointed it out yet, I'm going to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. **

**Chapter Seven: Just a Small Smile**

I woke up, finding myself sprawled on my back, laying on the floor. Sluggishly, I brought my hand to my face and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. It took me a few moments to register that I was staring at the ceiling. I let my eyes linger a few more seconds while I lightly tapped my stomach with my hand.

I sat up from where I was sleeping and quickly checked my ankles for some sort of binding. _No knots, no chains, no bindings, no nothing! _"Oh my god! Matsuda, it's a miracle!" I yelled, shooting up from my sitting position.

"What miracle?" Matsuda said sluggishly, taking a sip of his hot coffee. The scratches on his face were still noticeable, but no longer covered by band-aids.

"My feet are free! Nothing has been tied to them!" Why was I excited by such a little thing? Because it's the little things that matter…

I arched my back, my hands above my head and stretched until dots covered my vision. I wasn't actually sure if this was a good or bad for me, but it felt good enough.

I hadn't previously noticed that Afro man and Average guy where here, "Morning," I said nodding to the both of them. I turned around to say hi to Ryuzaki, but I saw he wasn't there. I gazed out the window to see the sun was just rising, "Since we're no longer on bad terms, can I ask for your names?" I asked the two nameless detectives.

Afro man took a moment to decide, while Average guy nearly immediately replied, "Mogi." Short, sweet, and to the point.

I looked in Afro man's direction expectantly. Soon he sighed, "You can call me Aziwa,"

I gave a simple smile, "Thank you Mogi," I nodded towards Mogi, "Aziwa," I then nodded towards him. I looked behind their heads to see if L was hanging out behind them, but didn't see him, "Where's Ryuzaki?" I asked the three of them.

"Here," Ryuzaki said directly into my right ear, his hot breath molesting my neck.

"Holy Christ!" I yelled whipping around and grabbing my neck with my right hand, "Do _not_ do that!" I yelled at Ryuzaki, feeling my heart beating over time. His face was the same, his eyes calculating everything and no emotional discrepancies.

"My apologies," he said going back to his chair and sitting in the same weird position he was in last night. On his desk was a microphone with a button, it was probably hooked up to the intercom, "Light-kun, it's been a week," he said speaking into the object as he pushed a button.

_**"I'll just forfeit it…" **_Out of the jumble of words between Ryuzaki and 'Light-kun", those four stuck out the most. _I wonder why…_

Instead of minding my own business like I probably should be doing, I walked over to L Land and peered over his shoulder and watch Light. As I watched, I noticed something change, it was his eyes. Just a minute ago they were mature and brooding, but now they seemed confused and innocent. I looked down and saw based on his expression, that L too noticed the change.

_**"Ryuzaki… I know I suggested this, but now I realize that there's no point! I'm not Kira!" **_Light yelled at the camera. The investigation team seemed completely shocked.

Deciding it was time to disengage myself from the Kira activities, I walked up to Matsuda, "Where's the Chief? He's not still in the hospital, is he?" I asked curiously.

"Huh?" Matsuda looked down at me, "You didn't know? The Chief went into Solitary along with his son, Light,"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, _wait_. Light is Yagami's son?" _So much for disengaging myself… _

"No one told you?" Matsuda asked surprised.

"Nope." I said popping the 'p'. I walked over to the couch trying my best to ignore the back and forth chatter between Ryuzaki and Yagami's son. "Thank god I'm not locked up in one of those rooms! They look so miserable; at least I only had to be in there for uh… two days," I said to myself, "I even got to sleep through one of those days! Wow, I'm one lucky duck,"

Ryuzaki turned around in his chair, "That's right, I never finished interrogating you," he said, putting the tip of his thumb in his mouth.

"Ryuzaki, haven't we already been over this? I'm innocent; therefore I have nothing to say that will contribute to this investigation, plus those ropes left marks on my skin…" I pulled up on the long white sleeve I was borrowing from L, showing the light bruises on my arms.

"All the same…" he said not completing the thought out loud, which irritated me.

"You just want to put your stupid blindfold back on me…" I said shaking slightly in anger.

"That _would_ be nice," he agreed tilting his head slightly up, gazing at the ceiling in thought. His blank eyes made it obvious that he was in deep thought, completely ignoring the world outside his own head.

"Oh come on! You're not seriously thinking about putting me back in that room, are you?" I leaned forward, now in an ill-tempered mood.

* * *

><p>"God damn it," I cursed out loud, hating every last person in this room, that being just Ryuzaki and I considering he let the investigation team go out for a <em>very <em>early lunch while I starved on this couch.

Right now I was wishing for confinement, that way I wouldn't be forced to stare at the back of his head until he decided to release my foot from this couch. "I hope you know I hate you," I said in a low quiet voice, directing it towards L.

Ryuzaki merely shrugged, giving me no reply.

"Why am I even here?" I asked as calm as humanly possible for someone in my position. I started messing with the cuff around my ankle, "I haven't done anything wrong! You have no right or reason to hold me against my will like this,"_ Come on, _calm_, show him he isn't the only one who can hold his temper!_ I removed a few strands of hair from my face, "Give me one good reason why I have to stay here," I said calmly, making sure I kept myself in check, nothing was going to break my will.

"The couch couldn't possibly fit through the doorway,"

I couldn't take it, this guy was too much for my will, "WELL THEN TAKE THIS DAMN CUFF OFF, YOU ASS HOLE!" I took a deep breath; the annoying thing wasn't my situation, but that guy… he's just… so… UGH!

"Give me one reason why I should take it off," he said mimicking me; _this man is truly an evil bastard. _

"I'll give you five if you come a little closer," I threatened, raising my fist.

Ryuzaki got up from his chair, I actually thought for a minute he was going to come over to me, but instead he entered the kitchen.

I saw Ryuzaki walk back in with a giant slice of cake, topped with an enormous amount of strawberries and whipped cream, "Now that's just downright cruel Ryuzaki," I grumbled from my spot on the couch. My stomach growled, signaling breakfast time.

"If you're hungry get yourself something to eat,"

"Yes, but you see where your logic fails," I irritably spoke, as I rolled up the long sleeves, "Is that you've seemed to attach my foot to this couch."

"Check your bindings," he said, now finished with half of the cake.

I eyed Ryuzaki suspiciously before stepping off the couch and sitting on the floor. I started at my cuff and pulled the chain, expecting it to become taut soon, but it remained slack. I temporarily stopped so I could question Ryuzaki, but he merely motioned for me to continue as he took the last bite of what was once a beautiful cake.

I shook my head and continued pulling the chain. I stopped short when I held the other cuff in my hand. I stared at the cuff for a good five minutes before looking back at Ryuzaki, who just stared curiously at me. I shifted my gaze back at the cuff and broke out into laughter, "You just love to screw with me, don't you Ryuzaki!" I spoke pleasantly, all of my anger and sore feelings melting away with the laughter.

I'm not quite sure why his prank didn't annoy me, maybe I was just getting used to him and his odd ways or maybe I just needed a good laugh.

As my laughter began to die down I felt something hit my thigh and land next to my foot. I picked up the object and assumed it was the key for the cuff locked around my foot. I removed the cuff with said key; I left the cuffs and chain on the floor and put the key on the coffee table to my left.

* * *

><p>I stepped out of the shower feeling clean and refreshed. Despite my earlier outburst, this day seemed to be going pretty swell. I had a good laugh, Ryuzaki let me eat cake, and I got to take an incredible shower.<p>

After drying off with one of the fluffy white towels, I grabbed the clothes I'd previously stolen from L's room. I stepped into the big blue pants and yanked them up to my hips. This time, instead of letting the legs drag on the ground, I actually took the time to sit down and roll them up. Upon standing up the pant legs fell lower than I expected them to, but at least they wouldn't drag as much as before.

I fastened my bra before opening the bathroom door. As I exited the bathroom, I pulled my shirt down, walking down and out of the hallway. Once in the living room I found that it was around three, and the investigation team was back from their ridiculously long "lunch" break.

The group was chatting it up about the investigation. This didn't exactly interest me, but decided to enjoy their company anyways. "Hello!" I said plopping down on the couch; my wet hair which I forgot to put in a pony tail was mostly in my face now. As I efficiently gathered my hair up to put in a low pony tail, I noticed just how close to Matsuda's crotch my feet had landed and judging by the relief written all over it, he noticed as well.

The group acknowledged my hello and continued their discussion about the case. I tried to block out the noise by shoving my face into the couch cushions, it didn't really work, but I kept my face there anyways. "Ryuzaki…" I called out just loud enough for him to hear me through the cushion pressed up against my mouth.

"Hmm?" I bet he wasn't even paying any attention

"Can I go-" I started to ask the same old question, but Ryuzaki was already answering me before I could even finish.

"No," Just as anticipated

"I don't appreciate your hospitality," I pushed myself off the couch and sat myself down by L. When I sat down Ryuzaki glanced down in my direction, "Could you at least give me a _real_ reason to why I can't leave?"

Ryuzaki sat still pondering his thoughts for a short moment, "I don't want you to go," was his response.

"I guess stating the obvious counts," I sighed, brushing off his reply, "You know all this stress can't possibly be good for Slippers,"

* * *

><p>I sat on the floor next to the coffee table glaring at the cuffs resting on it. I rested my head down on the table, tapping my fingers impatiently, enjoying the sound my nails made. I grabbed the cuffs and played with them in my lap, the cool metal was uncomfortable on my skin, but I ignored it.<p>

My gaze found L, sitting in his chair with his eyes glued to his computer screen like always. Can anyone say pay back? "Pay back," I whispered low enough to ensure absolutely no one heard me. I crawled as quietly as I could with the clinking chain.

On my crawl over I inspected things that I could cuff him to, but by the time I reached him I still hadn't found anything and L was staring at me expectantly. I sat down in front of him with the cuffs in my lap. Looking up at him, I slapped one of the cuffs on his closet wrist. In instant retaliation he slapped the other cuff onto my wrist.

I stared up at L, my jaw probably looking like it's fallen off its hinges. _This wasn't supposed to happen!_ I stared into those dark eyes waiting, just waiting for them to change and Ryuzaki to tell me that all of this was just a joke and I could go home now that he's had his fun, but nothing happened. As I stared at his eyes, I was pretty sure he was staring at mine probably wondering why I was staring at his.

"Okay! Let's get that key!" I scrambled to my feet nervously and headed to the coffee table, finding myself an arm's length away from the key to these cuffs. I could feel the cuff digging into my skin as I pulled on it, trying to get closer to the key. I turned to see that Ryuzaki wasn't helping at all; he'd turned back around to the monitor, ignoring his cuffed hand that was pulled behind him.

I glared daggers at him as he made this more difficult than it should be. I turned my gaze toward the investigation team that was just staring at me, "Matsuda!" I called desperately, flailing my arm in front of him, "The key…"I begged, knowing my eyes were big and innocent, hopefully in this case, irresistible. I grabbed the chain with my hand to lessen the pressure on my wrist.

"Uh… sure," Matsuda said slowly, grabbing the key and putting his hand out for me to grab it from.

I let a smile consume my face and leaned forward on my tip toes and as I did this, the taut chain became slack, increasingly slack. I lost my balance and fell over, luckily not on my face or onto the coffee table. I looked up from my new found position on the ground, finding L taking the key from Matsuda, "Thank you Matsuda," he turned his eyes back on me, "I'll just hold onto this," and then there was just the slightest hint of a smile, he quickly wiped it off his mouth, but it remained in his eyes.

I shook my head, looking down, "Let me guess… It's kinky, isn't it?" Looking up, I saw it was back, that tiny and almost non-existent smile was back.

**A/N: I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter… I know it's kind of short, but so are all the others! Uhm… REVIEW! :D**


	8. I'm Not THAT Giving

**A/N: Hello you guys! First of all, I want to apologize for how long this update took… I'm taking so many classes and I just got a job. Plus I've had writer's block. I've just been so stuck I couldn't figure out what to put down. Also I put up two **_**POLLS**_** on my profile… if you could vote please I'm really quite baffled by how I want to go about with Ava and L. Enjoy.**

**Chapter Eight: I'm Not **_**That**_** Giving**

Today the hotel room was particularly messy; the investigation team was reviewing all the evidence they had as well as the recent spike in Kira murders. Apparently when Light went into confinement the killings stopped, but now they were at an all time high.

The coffee table was covered in mountains of paper. Binders and video tapes were found in their own stacks and piles around the room.

I sat next to L in my own chair, rather than on the floor, and stared at him as he ignored the clutter and noise behind him, still concentrating on Light. In front of him was a tray of about five different desserts to choose from, courtesy of Watari.

Ryuzaki dropped cube after cube of sugar into what I was surprised to see, coffee, "I would have taken you for more of a hot chocolate kind of a man," I commented, nodding my head at his coffee.

Ryuzaki grabbed a spoon and stirred his super sweetened coffee, when he was satisfied with it he took a sip, "Do you associate me with a child?" he questioned, looking at me from the corner of his eye as he made a grab for a chocolate covered strawberry.

"Well you eat like one," I replied light-heartedly and looked him up and down, "And you sit like my baby sister,"

Ryuzaki was about to reply, but the monitor distracted him. Light just fell over on his side and stayed there and considering his hands were bound behind his back it couldn't have been comfortable. I leaned in closer to the screen, wondering if he was okay. L probably also curious zoomed in the camera on his face and spoke into the microphone, "Are you alright, Light-kun?"

Light's messy bangs shielded his eyes from our view, _**"I'm alright… but" **_Light shifted his head, allowing his eyes to be revealed, "_**Ryuzaki, the criminals have stopped dying since I've been detained… from this I think there is a high probability that Kira is someone aware of my current situation…"**_ There was more conversation between Light and L, but I ignored it for the most part, it wasn't information I even cared about.

I continued staring at the screen holding Light's face. I allowed a slight smile to consume my lips, "Oh… he's _hot_," I said letting my smile reach ear to ear. I turned to look at L for confirmation, but then realized he wasn't a girl… and judging by the look on his face he wasn't gay either. I turned to the task force for confirmation instead only to find Mogi and Aziwa diving into their work faster, not wanting to be part of this discussion. Matsuda, however, sat frozen on the couch looking like he was choking on air; the papers in his hands were crumpling a bit and his face seemed twisted in discomfort from the topic, "… all of this testosterone is suffocating," I sighed, letting my head hit the table in front of me harshly, "Ow…"

L glanced in my direction, but immediately reverted his gaze to the screen when he caught my eyes. Clearing his throat, L spoke into the microphone dedicated to Misa's room, "Amane… you look down, are you ok?"

"_**Let me go… I want to see Light,"**_ Misa whined, upon closer inspection I saw she did look pretty bad off, she was slumped forward and nowhere near as perky as she was the past few days, _**"Light…"**_ Misa called, stretching out the poor boy's name. _I'd hate to be her boyfriend…_

"Ryuzaki, this is enough!" Aziwa said cutting in, "The killings have continued, but Light and Misa are still in confinement. Why don't you let them out?" Aziwa demanded calmly, obviously disagreeing with L's form of investigation, "We haven't found anything!"

"Well… we found out that Misa is a nut for Light," I replied curtly, even though I wasn't previously involved in the conversation, "Also, I don't fancy the idea of Kira seeing my face…"

"But Light _isn't_ Kira!" Matsuda exclaimed, jumping up and dropping his papers on the coffee table as he defended the Chief's son.

I knew all signs were showing that Light couldn't be Kira because the killings had started up again, but why would the killings have stopped for a period of time? Was it just coincidence that Kira decided to take a 'vacation' when Light was confined? This whole case didn't make sense, but as long as Light was a suspect I didn't want him to see my face, "How about this… you let Light go _after_ you let me go, any takers?" I raised my hand, looking for someone to second my notion, but they all seemed too caught up on the topic of freeing Light.

"From what I can see, all you're doing is refusing to admit your verdict of Light being Kira was wrong," Aziwa said disregarding my proposition.

"I understand…" Ryuzaki stared at the monitor housing Yagami. He bit his thumb for a few minutes, probably collecting his thoughts before pressing the button at the base of the microphone, "Yagami-san…"

_**"What is it?"**_ Yagami's gruff voice replied. On the monitor I could see his head turn towards the camera and stare straight at it, his stone cold gaze was very intimidating.

I eyed the sweets in front of Ryuzaki as he explained to Yagami that he wanted to have a private chat. I finally decided I wanted one of the chocolate chip cookies by Ryuzaki's elbow. Licking my lips, I reached forward, but my hand was slapped away lightly; I looked up to see Ryuzaki staring at me, refusing the share his delectable good, "So do I get to listen to this 'private' conversation?" I asked holding the chain up to Ryuzaki's face.

"No, it's private,"

"So your gonna take these cuffs off finally?" I placed my hand on the table, excited for this stupid joke to be over with.

"…" L unlocked the cuff on his hand before reaching over and grasping my cuff in his warm hand. He slipped the key in and out relatively fast making me wonder how often he cuffed people to him.

"_Finally_… freedom at last," I said rubbing my freed wrist against my face, forgetting my previous thought. I watched L exit the room for his private chat before turning back to the monitors to see everyone was accounted for, except for Yagami of course. Looking down I saw that Ryuzaki had taken the sweets with him, but left his coffee. _I knew he couldn't possibly like coffee, even with dozens of cubes of sugar. _I picked the cooling cup of coffee up and sniffed at it. It smelt really sweet… _I wonder if it's any good…_ I eyed the coffee before bringing it to my lips. I tilted the cup back and allowed its contents into my mouth. Big mistake…

What I had just tasted wasn't sweet coffee, but a lump of coffee flavored sugar. I couldn't force myself to swallow so I spat it back into the cup… _Ryuzaki won't mind…right?_ I got up and stretched up toward the ceiling. I realized that L was gone, I wasn't currently attached to anything, and when L left he didn't leave me with any sort of threat. _Does this mean I'm free to go? I doubt the investigation team will stop me,_ "Okay well I'm gonna go home now…" I said slowly as I awkwardly headed toward the door that would lead me to the outside world… or the hallway that lead to the elevator that lead to the lobby that THEN lead to the outside world. _How long have I been in here? One week? Two? Its feels like forever._

I stopped at the door and took a deep breath… no one was stopping me, it felt weird. I quickly shrugged off the feeling and opened the door seeing the amazing sight of the door across the hall… probably where Yagami and Ryuzaki where meeting, it wouldn't surprise me if that paranoid guy had paid for _every_ room on this floor to ensure his privacy. Before stepping out the door I left Matsuda with a few words, "If L asks where I live, you forgot. Got it Matsuda?" I waited just long enough to see Matsuda nod his head slightly, after that I shut the door and called the elevator.

* * *

><p>I stepped into my apartment for the first time in what felt like months. I flicked the lights and saw that everything looked the same as before. All furniture and appliances accounted for. The only difference from now and a couple weeks ago was that everything was covered in a thin layer of dust with the exception of where Slippers had obviously lounged around and knocked things over.<p>

Upon entering the kitchen I saw that Matsuda had left the pantry door open and inside the pantry was my pathetic cat desperately meowing at the bags of cat food. Did he honestly think the cat food was just going to open itself up and knock itself over for him?

"Oh you poor obese thing!" I cried out, scooping the twenty pound cat into my arms. I hadn't realized how much I missed my angel. I turned around to set him down on the counter while I grabbed a small bag of his food. I clicked my tongue calling for him to follow me; he jumped… well more like fell off the counter and followed me like a shadow, a very fat shadow.

Once in Slipper's room I poured the bag of food into his bowl. Slippers bounded up the little kitty staircase, seeing as he was to fat to make a jump for the desk, he sniffed at the food and then devoured nearly the whole bowl, "Fatty…" I mumbled under my breath as I watched him eat.

Slippers flopped onto his side, deciding it was his after food nap. I left him alone until he was in a deep sleep and decided the fat thing was just too irresistible for me; I picked him up and swung him around in a big circle before clutching him as close to me as possible, "Aren't you adorable?" I could feel his claws sinking into my shoulders from fright, "Aren't you adorable! You stupid fat thing!" I laughed into his chubby belly thinking about how Matsuda would react if he were here.

I finally calmed down and exited my kitty high. I laid down on the floor and looked up at the ceiling. I noticed Slippers was sniffing at my middle and knew what was coming next; I soon felt the pressure of Slippers stepping onto my stomach and then attempting to make some sort of makeshift nest. I wasn't sure whether he had given up or was satisfied, but when by the time he was done Ryuzaki's shirt had a few good tears in it from Slippers biting and clawing.

I absentmindedly petted Slippers while I thought things through… Two weeks without any word from me, I was probably fired, had bills to pay, and my family more or less didn't notice my usual lack of contact. I sat upright, ignoring Slippers upset grumbling as I once again had woken him from his oh-so-precious beauty sleep. I pulled my obese cat into my lap and scratched behind his ear as I tried to forget about my worries.

* * *

><p>I heard my front door open and assumed Ryuzaki had sent Matsuda to retrieve me, "Matsuda, I thought I told you that you didn't know where I lived," I called across the house, guessing Ryuzaki had been a bit more persuasive than I was considering he was here.<p>

I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling, I could hear Matsuda's footsteps as he proceeded down the hall toward Slipper's room. I heard the door creak open, sighing I turned over once again, propping myself up with my elbows, coming face to face with Ryuzaki, "Oh… it's you," I pushed myself into a sitting position, "Hey…" I thought for a minute, recalling that I had locked my door upon entering, "How the hell did you get in here?" I shouted getting in his face… well more in his face.

He held a key in front of my face, upon closer inspection it looked exactly like my key except this one was a bronze copy of my silver one, "I made a copy of your key," He stated the obvious.

I made a swipe for it, but he quickly stood and tucked his hand into his pocket, dropping the key in it, "Don't you know that's illegal?" I hissed, getting up to his level, or as close to it as I could get.

"Is it now?" he asked despite knowing full well that it was illegal. His voice was in its usual monotone with the slight undertone of sarcasm.

"_Yes_, it is." I said gritting my teeth; I mean _who_ makes a copy of someone's key? A stalker… I sighed and shook my head, _for a detective this guy sure does work his way around the laws…_

"Light-kun will be set free," L looked at me from the corner of his eye as he said this.

"Is that so?" I felt my earlier feelings of annoyance dissolve for the most part.

L turned to face me, the look on his face showed his curiosity, "I thought you would have reacted differently,"

"In what way do you think I would have reacted?" I asked now slightly confused.

L turned from me and started snooping around Slipper's room. "This morning you seemed to believe Light was Kira and were against him being released, I only deduced that you were against Kira and would be angered by this," He said picking up one of Slipper's old, shredded, cat toys and eyed it closely.

I said I was perfectly fine with Light being released _after_ I was gone. I guess L didn't catch that part. "I don't believe what Kira is doing is right, no one should be allowed to decide whether or not a person's life should continue or ended. So you should know I'm 100% against Kira."

"Then will you join me in a battle of intellects against Kira?" Ryuzaki had discarded the cat toy and turned his attention back to me.

"Only if you want to lose, I mean in case you haven't noticed I'm not the sharpest knife it the drawer." Though I made this joke at myself I hoped that Ryuzaki wouldn't agree with me. Ryuzaki didn't reply but just stared; despite this being a usual response from Ryuzaki something was off. I'm not sure why, but something about this silent response unnerved me. "So if Kira is apprehended I suppose his sentence will be death?" I turned my head to the side and focused my eyes on my feet. I didn't really want to see those charcoal eyes burrowing into me.

I could see the slight nod that he gave from the corner of my eye.

I didn't know what to think… so I didn't. I pushed the thought far, far away, into the depths of my mind and choose to forget about it. It conflicted with too many of my beliefs while agreeing with many others. How did I get into this awful mess anyways? I thought of the night I was shot, _because you didn't stay out of other people's business idiot. _

My thoughts were thankfully interrupted when L spoke, "My shirt…" he referred to the one I was wearing as he scratched his midsection.

"What?" I pulled the bottom of the shirt out and looked down at it, "Oh… my bad?" I chuckled nervously as I stuck my fingers through the various tears created by Slippers. "I'd offer you a replacement, but I'm not that giving,"

And guess what? He smiled, again. What was with him? When I had met him I hadn't thought it was possible for this guy to do so much of this "strenuous" activity.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Ryuzaki asked after a few moments peaceful silence.

"Huh?" I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.

"Why would you doubt the skills you could contribute when you are an employed detective already?"

I guess technically you could call me a detective, but most certainly not the type of detective that any normal person would picture working with L to take down Kira. "I'm only in missing person's… I'm not so sure that's the type of detective you should be looking for." I verbalized my thoughts.

"Have you ever thought about it from another perspective then? For all intense and purposes let's say Light isn't Kira. Do we know where Kira is?" Ryuzaki said all of this slowly to make sure I was following him as he took my through the process.

"No…?" I still wasn't quite sure where he was going with this.

"And what does missing person's do?" L asked, but it was rhetorical and required no answer, "They find people. That's your specialty Ava, you find people. Now I need you to assist me in finding Kira,"

I sighed… What have I gotten myself into? I've gone from doing something from the kindness in my heart, to having the crap beat out of me, to being held captive by a man forcing medical treatment upon me, to being interrogated by said man, to being released but still held against my will, to working with this strange, strange man I've come to know as L. What. The. _Hell_. Something is _surely_ wrong with me.

"So when do I start?"

**A/N: Again I'm sooooo sorry about how long this update has taken. It should not have taken so long, but it did. I hope you guys liked this. It's really just kind of a filler I guess, not much happened, but at least you know what WILL happen, such as Light being released, Ava joining the task force. Who knows what else (not me). REMEMBER! I Have two polls on my profile that I'd like you guys to look at so I can have a better idea on what sort of direction I'm gonna head in. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! Review and maybe you might get a quicker update!**


	9. Are You Scared?

**A/N: Sorry, once again for how long this update took. I'm sure I could come up with tons of excuses, but I bet you guys rather read the story than listen to my blab. After realizing that two polls can't show at once I closed the other and I will be posting the new one… SO GO VOTE :D After you read of course :3 OHHH and I dropped the 'F' bomb in here, just thought yall should know.**

**Chapter Nine: Are You Scared?**

"_So… When do I start?"_

I shot up in bed to the sound of my alarm clock, it was approximately 3:30, I cringed at the sight of the time like I did every other morning for the past week; all because of the day I agreed to join forces with the oh-so-brilliant L or Ryuzaki as he forced us to call him. He's been working us harder and harder every passing day.

As of late, I found myself just barely scraping together four hours of sleep. I clambered out of _my _bed recalling the fuss that L made when I refused to practically move into the hotel like the rest of the task force had seemed to do some nights

I dragged my feet as I trudged into the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the shower, allowing the room to collect steam. I made this shower quick work of, considering I had 'over-slept' as Ryuzaki called it (just like he did every other morning). My personal belief was that if I was waking up at 3:30 in the morning, there was no fucking way I had over-slept considering just about a month ago on a Friday night I might have just been getting home.

I dried myself off with my not-so-luxurious towel and went back to my room to throw on a pair of jeans and a white tank top. I took notice too Slippers who was currently sleeping on my side of the bed, _not_ in his room. Sometimes I wondered why I gave him the humongous room with all the nice things inside of it, if he hardly ever used it. I threw the sheet over him which he responded to by thumping his tail once. I smiled at the sight, "Bye, Slippers," I grabbed my keys off my night stand and walked to my front door. I stepped outside, though not a second later stepped back in due to the chill.

Back in my room I grabbed my leather jacket and matching white and black checked scarf and hat, "Now I'm ready," I said to myself as I locked my apartment door. I took the elevator down to the lobby and surely enough, like every other morning this week, there was a black limo parked outside, waiting to take me to work. _ I do hope Ryuzaki pays you a lot Watari. _

As I approached the limo, Watari stepped out and opened the door for me, "How are you fairing this fine morning Miss Nadel?"

"Eh, it feels like it's going to be one of those eyelash-in-the-eye kind of days," Watari merely smiled and closed the door… just like every other day. Despite my life being very much in danger for being associated with this case I felt very… though I knew this was a bad way of thinking I couldn't help myself from wanting to mix it up a bit… though maybe if Light _is _released that will shake things up.

I sighed shaking my head, reminding myself that calm was better for my life expectancy... and those around me.

* * *

><p>I opened the door to the hotel room and was immediately greeted with the aroma of fresh cookies and brownies. During the time I spent with Ryuzaki I came to realize that he <em>never<em> consumed a non sweet item. _Perhaps he's looking forward to diabetes when he grows older._

I walked past L to get started with my day already, "Over sleep again Ava-chan?" I stopped walking and froze in place. _Ava-chan? _I think my eye twitched, "Is something wrong Ava-chan?" My eye twitched again. I was stumped, unsure of how to respond properly.

"Ryuzaki…" I took a shaky breath.

"Yes?"

"Never call me 'Ava-chan' again, please," I wasn't quite sure why it bothered me... from what I can remember 'chan' was supposed to be some sort of endearing term, but it just seemed weird.

"Will do Ava-_kun_," Ryuzaki was playing with me again.

"That's even worse and you know it," I speculated that 'kun' was used for males but didn't saying anything aloud to save myself from embarrassment if I was wrong.

"Perhaps you should be more specific in the future, Nadel." Ryuzaki said dropping the honorific along with the first name. I realized it was his tone of voice that had caught be off guard it was very...affectionate in its own way.

"Ava will suffice," I didn't want to give Ryuzaki too much of a cold shoulder… though with a 3:30 AM wake-up call he did deserve it.

"Today is the day we let Light-kun go," Ryuzaki said to me suddenly changing the topic. I noticed his hands that were usually lightly placed on his knees seemed more strained for a moment.

"You really believe he's guilty, don't you?" the answer was obvious though. L knew that as well, which is why he responded only by looking at me from the corner of his eye, "Well, then what is the great L's next move?"

"If he passes the test, then I'll have no choice, but to keep an eye on him at all times, this means proposing that he joins the task-force-"

"I find it hard to believe you lived this long dealing with criminal cases under these circumstances,"

"This has been the toughest case I have ever taken on, never before have I broken this many rules…"

"Are you scared?" There was no response.

* * *

><p>It was approximately 10 am. We'd be initiating the final test in about fifteen minutes. The rest of the task-force filed in around 7 am, why Ryuzaki insisted that I come in so much earlier than the others stumped me. Maybe after Yagami's heart attack he thought the old(er) folks needed easier hours. Though I speculated that he was trying to break my will and get my to stay in the hotel with him, but that stumped me even further... <em>why <em>did he want me to stay in the hotel with him?

My thoughts were interrupted when I was Yagami enter the room out of the corner of my eye. I immediately stood and turned to face him, "Sir, how are you feeling today?" Ever since Yagami's heart attack I've tried to be nothing but pleasant to him, hoping not to trigger another one.

"Fine," he grunted, "I just want to clear my son's name and get this over with," he sounded tired. This case had seriously aged Yagami, I don't know what he used to look like, but in the short time I had know him I was able to see a serious change.

A beep came from Ryuzaki's phone, he lifted it to his ear in response, "The car is ready Yagami," Ryuzaki relayed the message he just received.

"Alright," Yagami turned to leave.

"Yagami, wait," I removed my gun from my holster, "Take this," I held the gun out to him keeping my eyes trained on my lap, "You never know, you might need one that actually works,"

"My son is not Kira," Yagami had said this line a multitude of times.

"What about that girl who's bat shit crazy about him?" This time I looked him in the eyes, urging him to just take the gun.

"I'm doing this because I believe that Light is innocent," he said leaving the gun in my possession.

The task force and I- excluding Yagami, of course- watched the monitor intently. Yagami had just put Misa in the back of the car and was now fetching his son, Light. Moments later we saw Light sit down on the left side of the car (our right). Yagami walked around to the other side of the car and got in on the right side (our left).

Misa started blabbing on about how she didn't know that "Mr. Stalker" would be such "an old guy". I was slightly disappointed to see that Misa didn't get the same scolding that I had for calling him old, though the circumstances where quite different. I started tuning out Misa's annoying voice like I was sure everyone else was with the exception of Ryuzaki.

"_**Dad what's going on?"**_ Light asked confused.

"_**Dad? Oh no, Misa rudely called Light-kun's dad a stalker!"**_ Misa cried out in remorse. _Must she always refer to herself in third person?_ I thought to myself.

"_**Thankfully suspicion has finally been cleared and we'll be released-"**_ Light was cut off by his father.

"_**From here on out you two are being taken to the execution chamber. Being that you are my son I thought it was only right for me to take you there myself."**_ I could see the sweat that started dripping down everyone's face. The fear the entered Misa and Light's eyes, the pain that entered Yagami's eyes. _**"L has determined that Light is Kira and Miss Amane is second Kira. All the head's of the UN have already agreed on this matter, though Kira and Second Kira's execution will be kept hidden from the public,"**_

I saw the desperation enter Light's eyes, _**"But Dad! I'm not Kira!"**_

"_**The decision is not mine, but L's,"**_ Was Yagami's swift reply.

"_**You're going to trust L over you own son!" **_Light's voice cracked slightly, he looked down at his lap momentarily to compose himself. There was more conversation exchanged over the fifteen minute drive to the planned location.

"_**We're here,"**_ Yagami pulled over the car in the middle of nowhere just like planned. I looked over at L whose unwavering gaze at the monitor was probably picking apart every detail. I noticed he was biting his thumb nail, he was nervous. Looking at the other task-force members I saw that they were also nervous, they were all probably hoping that after this was over Light's name would be cleared… however it appeared that there was a shred of doubt in each of their minds that maybe Light _was_ indeed Kira.

"_**The middle of no-where? Why are we here? Are you letting us go?"**_ Misa rambled on while Light just waited for an explanation.

"_**I took you both here of my own accord," **_The chief took a deep breath before looking back over at Light, _**"Light I am going to kill both you and myself here," **_The murderous look that appeared on Yagami's face sent chills down my spine. Light pushed himself as far back into the seat as possible, true undeniable fear entering his eyes.

"Shit, he's a hell of an actor, he could be on TV," I swallowed the excess saliva in my mouth.

"_**W-w-what are you saying dad? Th-this is insane?" **_desperation now overtook Light's actions. His eyes were widened beyond belief, sweat poured down his face causing his hair to slicken again his head.

Yagami dug the gun with the blanks out of his jacket ignoring the rest of Light's and Misa's desperate pleading for reason, _**"Amane, Light and I will die right here, when the police discover the car you will be justly executed in the execution chambers,"**_

"_**Dad, Kira wouldn't just sit here and allow himself to be killed, neither would second Kira-"**_ Light was once more cut off by his father.

"_**Shut up!"**_ Yagami yelled, thrusting the gun in Light's face, Light yelled a plea to his father once more, but Yagami merely spoke over it, _**"Light, both you and I are murderers now; we'll meet each other in hell," **_

"_**No, no, no, no, no!" **_Misa begged Yagami not too pull the trigger tears falling down her face. Light turned his head away from his father instinctively lowering his body into the seat, trying to make himself smaller. The chief pulled the trigger and Light squeezed his eyes shut tight, expecting the bullet to tear through his skull.

After a few moments of unbreakable silence the Chief let out a long breath. Light opened his eyes realizing that there had been a bang, but no bullet had lodged itself into his head. Misa's tears immediately slowed to a standstill noticing that her one and only love, Light had not had his brains splattered against the interior of the car. _**"Thank goodness," **_Yagami breathed out once again in relief, he had cleared his son of any and all suspicion, or at least that's what he thought; judging by the look on L's face he still didn't have all his doubts erased.

"_**What do you mean 'thank goodness'?" **_Light asked shocked, but much more relaxed now that there wasn't a gun pointed at him.

"_**Forgive me, but there was no other way to free you from confinement. Understand that I only did this because I believed that you weren't Kira," **_Yagami rested his head on the steering wheele, obviously exhausted from the great ordeal. _**"Are you convinced yet Ryuzaki? I did everything you said and I'm still alive,"**_ The chief look directly into the camera in the review mirror.

I walked away from the monitor with conflicted feelings. I was pleased to see that this hadn't killed the Chief and that no one was going to be executed. Then again, my feelings toward Light nagged at me. There was no one more likely to have committed these crimes than Light. If Light was Kira, however, I'm sure he wouldn't allow himself to die, but would he go so far to kill his own father?

I heard Ryuzaki bring up my same thoughts as he spoke to Yagami, Light, and Misa through the microphone. "I'll allow your participation in the investigation, but only if I'm with you 24/7" L spoke steadily into the microphone to Light. Sometimes when I look back upon this moment, I wonder if Ryuzaki realized that this would be one of his fatal mistakes… letting Light so close to him.

My stomach growled loudly earning me a stare from Ryuzaki. I shrugged and sauntered into the kitchen. I searched through all the cabinets and the fridge for something that wasn't sweet, I should have known better though. There would be no big juicy steak or a vegetable platter- something that _didn't_ scream 'heart attack on a plate'. I found that no such thing existed and settled on a streusel blueberry muffin.

_I think that if I die during this case the cause may be questionable due to the amount of sweets I've been consuming as of late._ I pushed through the doors of the kitchen back out to the living room to see that the investigation team was no longer crowded around the monitor, but talking joyfully about Light's innocence.

* * *

><p>The overall mood of the investigation team was higher than it has been ever since I first got here. It seemed that ever since Light was cleared of the Kira accusations for the most part that the investigation team has had high spirits. Though, this didn't account much for L or I. My guess was that L still didn't fully believe that Light was innocent. As for me… well I was just trying to stay impartial, if Light did turn out to be Kira I didn't want him to hold any grudge against me.<p>

While the investigation team acted happily and merrily all day long, I continued going through all the information that had been collected before my addition to the team. I heard two quick beeps come from my watch and I noticed it was midnight; I should have left an hour ago. I looked around me to see only Ryuzaki and I remained. Light and Misa were sent back to confinement for the rest of the day (and night) they would be officially released tomorrow morning. I faintly remembered Aziwa had left a couple hours ago to have dinner with his wife, whom he probably hasn't seen much of in the past months. The chief left around the same time as Matsuda who left around eleven.

I sighed, as I looked through the files for the third time. I heard a soft creaking of a chair, looking over my shoulder I saw Ryuzaki walking towards the kitchen with his slightly hunched posture. I set the file I had just finished looking at down on the coffee table in front of me. I pulled my legs toward my chest and wrapped my arms around them. I rested my head and closed my eyes. I could feel my body beg for a full eight hours of sleep. I sighed again knowing I should head home since I started work in about four and a half hours, "Oh, hell," I said to myself.

"You're tired," Ryuzaki stated simply.

I jumped at the sound of his voice, I looked up to see Ryuzaki was now standing in front of me with cake,"Hmm, I suppose your right," I admitted sluggishly.

"I can have Watari drive you-"

"Don't bother him at this time of the night for me," I interrupted him, "I can call for a cab," I pulled my phone from my pocket and turned it on (Ryuzaki required us to keep them off while we're working… of course his always remained on…) I dialed the operator for a taxi company, just as I was being transferred, Ryuzaki pulled my phone out of my hand and closed it shut, thus ending the call.

I stared at Ryuzaki and then looked down at my phone in his hand. When I looked back up at him I was met by dark eyes that were closer than they were a few seconds ago. Both of us stared at each other for a few moments without blinking, "If you win, you can call a cab" he said trying to start another game, lord knows why.

"Or…" I leaned farther away from him until I was leaning against the arm of the couch, "I could just roll over and pass out from exhaustion," I pulled a pillow behind my head, "Come on Ryuzaki, if you want to play give me an offer that will make me want to play," And with that I rolled over and let sleep consume me.

* * *

><p>I woke up in a dark room, with the only light coming from the soft glow of a laptop next to me. I lifted myself up and stared at Ryuzaki who was exactly where I left him when I had fallen asleep, only now he had a laptop.<p>

I swung my legs off the couch and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Once in there I did my initial business, afterwards I checked the time to see that it was nearly four in the morning. I turned the shower on and started to peel away my clothing.

Even after a wonderful hot shower I didn't feel like I was any more awake than before. I dried myself off with a towel that seemed identical to the one I used last time I had showered here. Like last time I stared at my dirty clothes with distaste, unlike last time I didn't have Matsuda to go fetch me clothing.

The little diva inside me was _not _going to allow me to put my old clothes back on. Instead she directed my to tie my towel around my body as tight as possible and search for Ryuzaki's room. I opened the bathroom door and looked both ways to make sure the coast was clear. Of course, the one direction I didn't look was down, which caused me to stumble over a bag that was left out in front of the bathroom door.

Upon looking down at the bag I saw it was full of clothes. I picked up the bag and reentered the bathroom. The contents of the bag disturbed me here and there, the fact that he had gotten me matching lacy underwear and bra was disconcerting.

I slipped on the bra and panties and pulled out a pair of blue jeans; also in the bag I found a long-sleeved white shirt. Sound familiar? Upon putting on the rest of the clothes from the bag I found that they fit me perfectly, they weren't his… just clothes that looked like his- because that's not weird or anything- dressing a girl you barely know exactly like you is _completely_ normal.

As I exited the bathroom, tugging on the hem of my new shirt I wondered how he got _everything_ in the right size. I walked into the main room with a scowl on my face, "So look who's on time today," I peered down at the watch momentarily forgetting my disturbance, I found that it was 4:30 on the dot.

I temporarily ignored the remark, "I find it disturbing that you know what size I wear… and that you sent an old man to buy me provocative underwear that you won't even have the privilege to see," Ryuzaki was currently looking up at me biting his thumb nail, "Furthermore, why _am_ I wearing provocative underwear and clothes identical to yours?"

"You're right, there's no use in provocative undergarments when I can't see them, you're free to remove them if you wish,"

I just stared at Ryuzaki for a moment, "Hmmm, going commando… or lacy panties… What a choice," I said sarcastically as I flopped down next to him on the couch.

There was a long awkward silence- well with the exception of the sound of my hands rhythmically tapping my thighs. Eventually, though, this 'silence' was broken by yours truly, "So what do you think about Light's change in personality?"

The look in Ryuzaki's eyes told me he knew what I was talking about, but he questioned me nonetheless, "What do you mean?"

"That day… he-" I paused in thought,"He's always seemed so calm and collected his eyes so sharp and serious. But that day… his eyes changed right after he said he would forfeit something. His eyes seemed so much more child-like. They became innocent. Something happened to Light in that room that we couldn't see, I'm certain of it."

"So you noticed to. It's almost like he forfeited a pawn in a game of chest," Ryuzaki began chewing at his thumb.

"There are more rules to this 'game' than we've anticipated… it seems with each piece we move the more dangerous it gets," I brought my attention to my hands which were currently working a knot out of my hair.

"Are you scared?" he asked. I looked up from my hands and looked him straight in the eye.

"Are you?" Only silence followed, our eyes meeting. There was no response. The answer was obvious for both of us.

**A/N: Okay… so what did you think? I was trying to make this a longer chapter to make up for how long I've been gone, but I just couldn't do it. My mind would stray off and search useless information and start writing chapter ideas for this (I wrote 5 in between Ava's last dialogue and the actual last sentence of this chapter…) I haven't really gone through this chapter too much. I hope it doesn't feel short and clipped to you guys, since you know I do a bunch of time skips… If it is I guarantee you I will rewrite this chapter and give it more bulk to the best of my capabilities. Also I hope the whole L giving Ava clothing doesn't make you hate me forever. I wasn't sure how you guys would take it. If you don't like it though I'll take it out… maybe. **

**Also if you guys have ANY opinions or feedback or ANYTHING **_**TELL ME**_**! I can't stress this enough, no matter how insignificant you feel it is, it really **_**does**_** mean a lot to me… just don't be rude, that's all I ask. **

**Hopefully the next update will be quicker… no promises though.**


	10. What Can I Say?

**A/N: I'm really excited to be putting out another chapter of "It's Called a Brain" I really never intended on this update taking so long, but things happen. So I'm kind of nervous (though when am I not?) of what you guys will think. So let me know! I've had such amazing reviews from **_**ALL**_** of you. You guys make me want to be a better writer.**

**Chapter Ten: **

It was only a matter of time, any minute now that door would open. The golden handle would turn downwards and- in would step Light Yagami, L's number one (and most likely _only_) suspect. The only thing I could do was look at that door and wait.

Sitting down in the arm chair facing the door, I draped my legs over the arm. One of my arms was placed comfortably on the back of the chair while the other supported my head on its fisted hand.

I went over the facts we had over and over again and ended up in the same place again and again. L was right, Light fit the bill. But I kept trying to find something I missed, something that would prove Light couldn't be Kira, but the only thing I could figure was Light's time in solitude. This, of course, only brought more doubts and inconclusive thoughts. All the footage showed that Light did nothing suspicious, but is it really just a coincidence that Kira's killings stopped for his first week in confinement?

Lost in my thoughts, I never realized that Matsuda was carrying on a one sided conversation. I also didn't notice him when I leapt out of my seat and stormed out of the room. I pushed through the doors into the kitchen, they closed shut behind me. "Ava?"

Peering out the window over the sink that looked into the living room I saw Matsuda sitting on the floor looking exasperated. "Did you say something Matsuda?"

"No… nothing," he sighed wearily, slumping onto the coffee table.

"Alright…" I responded awkwardly, closing off the kitchen from the living room. I leaned on the cool counter, pressing my palms against my eyes. I already knew the truth, Light was Kira. But something just didn't sit right with me, something was off.

The noise level outside the kitchen rose substantially, I cracked open one of the two wooden panes of the window and saw that the whole task force, including Light and Misa were now gathered in the living room.

I recalled the conversation I had with L earlier this morning, "… _his eyes changed right after he said he would forfeit something. His eyes seemed so much more child-like. They became innocent. Something happened to Light in that room that we couldn't see, I'm certain of it." _

"_So you noticed too. It's almost like he forfeited a pawn in a game of chess,"_

I looked deep into Light's eyes… or as deep as I could from twenty feet away. _Those aren't the eyes of a killer. _So could that be it… Light was Kira, but now he isn't? "With each piece we move, the more dangerous it gets,"

With no other options left I took a deep breath and exited the kitchen, "I suppose if there's any time to meet a notorious killer, now would be it," Everyone was greeting Light and Misa, who was hanging of his arm like a leech. "Light Yagami," I stood within arm's length of him now, "It's a pleasure to meet you," I extended my hand to shake, even though it wasn't customary.

He accepted my hand, "Thanks," it was short, sweet, and to the point- a quality I usually admired. My attention was averted from Light, to the impish girl who was glaring at me. Her grip on Light's arm tightened to the point that I was pretty sure there wasn't any circulation.

_Someone must have jealousy issues_, "And you must be Misa Amane," I narrowed my eyes at her; there was no doubt in my mind that this girl was the second Kira. We had hard physical evidence that proved her guilt. _But is it the same as with Light? Was she Kira, but now she's not? _

I noticed Yagami out of the corner of my eye. Turning to see him, it was obvious how much better he was doing now that Light was no longer an official suspect. The bags under his eyes that had almost surpassed L's were now almost gone and his posture wasn't slouched like it had been in the past few days. Yagami now held himself with the same dignity and authority he had held himself with the day I met him.

That's what happens though when you're face with losing your child…

There was a rattling on the other side of the room, Ryuzaki and pulled a pair of cuffs out of a draw. In his hands were the same cuffs he used on me, "Light, you remember the conditions I stated when we last talked,"

I pressed my lips together as the dots connected, but a snort still managed to get through. I knew _exactly_ what L planned to do with the cuffs and going off of Misa's reaction to Light shaking hands with another girl… I could see the entertaining drama that was going to go down and judging by everyone's face, I wasn't the only one. In fact, Light and Misa were the only ones who clueless. _And I am the only one who finds this completely amusing. _

L shot me a look as he clasped the cuffs around Light's left wrist and his right. "Is this really necessary, Ryuzaki?" Light questioned, obviously uncomfortable. I couldn't keep a smile off of my face; it was actually pretty funny when you weren't the one being cuffed.

"Two guys chained together is gross!" Misa gave her two cents. Just like I suspected, she began to react quite… amusingly, "Light is _mine_, you can't be attached to him 24 hours a day! I mean, how are we supposed to go on our dates?" Of course, she would only think about dates at a time like this. Not the fact that she was still a suspect, or that she may never see the outside world again as a free woman, but that she may not be able to go on a few dates.

"Obviously it will be the three of us," Ryuzaki gestured to the cuffs that would keep Light and himself within a three foot radius of each other. The look on Misa's face motivated me to push things further.

I walked around Misa once, like a predator sizing up its prey. "L, you're such a pervert," I looked him in the eye, turning to Misa I exclaimed, "I bet he expects you to kiss Light _in front _of him!"

The look on Misa's face told me I was heading in the right direction. "I knew it, you really are a pervert!" crying out, her jaw nearly touched the floor. Misa's already firm grasp on Light's arm became noticeably tighter; to the point where I began to wonder if there would be a bruise there in the morning.

I was mildly surprised when Ryuzaki didn't tell either of us to shut up (directly or indirectly). I considered this was the "Go ahead, Ava. I know I took you super cool and fun life of drinking with friends and playing with a cat, so I'll give you this little moment of enjoyment," No… he would never say that, but I can think it, can't I?

So, I took my chance and continued to play with her, "It's alright Misa," I laid my hands on her shoulders consolingly, "I'm sure if you and Light were to get more… intimate he would look away," A small smile for reassurance made Misa seem to relax a bit, "Although…" I paused momentarily, it was obvious I had her hooked and she wanted to know what else I had to say on the matter, "It _would_ be on tape for him to watch later," I gestured to the many monitors around us; there was no corner unrecorded.

The look on her face was priceless. She was my catch of the day. And what a beautiful catch it was! It was almost as if it were pulled from a cartoon. Her left eye gave a twitch every few moments, while her face went from red to a ghostly pale. Dread was etched into her features and her hair stood on its ends. _Ah… yes, I truly am talented, aren't I?_

"Ava," my attention was directed away from Misa's building reaction.

"Yes, Ryuzaki?" I replied cheerfully. I knew what was coming.

"Shut up," See this was how Ryuzaki told me, "Okay, you had your fun, stop being stupid,"

"Alright, I can take a hint," I joked leaving the room in a much lighter mood than I had entered it in. I suppose, I was overreacting about the whole, Light-is-more-than-less-likely-Kira-and-it-will-only-be-a-matter-of-time-before-he-knows-my-full-name-and-I-die thing; _Though now that I've put it that way…_ my mood was kind of iffy once again.

* * *

><p>When I returned to the room after a non-successful search for real food in the kitchen I found not much had changed. Misa was throwing a tantrum against Light, pounding her fists against his chest as she cried out. I thought most people grew out of this after starting elementary school, but of course this…<em> unique <em>girl held onto her inner four year old all the way into her twenties. The words "used" and "took advantage of" spilled from her mouth, alerting me (and anyone else within a five mile radius) to what the tantrum was about.

Ryuzaki not being the most emotionally sensitive person, ignored the outburst and asked Light to "Shut Misa up," Which, of course, caused her to cry out even more hysterically until finally Light did tell her to shut up… in his own polite way. As soon as she was quieted L went on and reviewed information with Misa, "So you went to Aoyama and when you came home, you where in love with Light-kun?"

"Yes," She sighed cheerfully, forgetting her tantrum.

"And you knew his name?"

"Mmhmm," Misa and Ryuzaki were looking at each other eye to eye. Their noses were nearly touching. I hadn't noticed the rapidly decreasing space between the two of them… until now. There was barely any space and neither of them backed off. Any smile that might have been on my face previously was now gone. My face was void of any sort of expression. "But you don't know_ how _you learned his name?"

Misa and L just stayed the way they were, gazing into each other's eyes. There was… something… a twinge inside of me. My brow furrowed, the feeling was unusual, something I was unfamiliar with. Suddenly, the feeling disappeared when Misa backed away and returned to Light's side, snuggling into his arm affectionately. I narrowed my eyes at the girl; realizing she was the cause of my discomfort. _Someone must have jealousy issues…_ the words I thought toward Misa earlier reverberated through my thoughts.

_ You're jealou-_ I quickly stopped that train of thought and snatched a room key off the coffee table. I needed air.

Checking my pocket for my wallet, I left without saying a word; not even bothering to make sure that the door didn't slam. I passed by many doors as I marched down the hall to the elevator. Slapping my hand on the down button, I leaned against the wall; watching the arrow that indicated which floor the elevator was on. My plan on a quick exit was foiled, seeing as the elevator took its sweet old time getting to the top, I waited anyways. When it finally arrived it was a quick trip down to the lobby, no stops.

With hands in my pockets and eyes trained on the floor, I made my way out of the lobby. It wasn't until I bumped into someone that I looked up, and when I did, the first thing I saw was a beige trench coat. I recoiled and snapped my head up in response, recalling the two men from weeks ago. My muscles clenched, ready to throw myself behind the nearest sofa or pillar, but the face I saw was that of a middle aged business man. "Sorry, Sir," bowing slightly, I left him to his muttering about foreigners.

I began to realize the foolishness in my thoughts, L being who he is, you know, the world's greatest detective and all, probably had both men locked away someplace nice and tight. I eyed the bar across seeing myself that night in a third person perspective. Sliding off the bar stool, I confidently approached the sea of people; the only thing giving away my tipsiness was my giddy smile. Well, until I entered the crowd where I was nearly flung to the floor and trampled do to my lack of coordination.

In the present I walked through the crowd with ease, following memory as it took place. Breaking free from the swarm of people heading toward the elevators I took refuge in a small seating area in the center of the lobby, claiming an empty chair. It was here that my life had changed, I eyed the lamp to my right, _If I hadn't stepped in that night, I might not be here today, _my gaze shifted to the corner where I first saw L… With a small sigh, I got to my feet and set my gaze in front of me and continued my journey to the doors. At the doors, was an elder gentleman in a uniform, never before had I seen him here. He bowed slightly when I approached and opened the door for me. The smile on his face reminded me of Watari, I returned the smile appreciatively.

Stepping outside, I was assaulted by the cold air. I was grateful that L had given me a warmer long sleeved shirt rather than something thin. _L…_ I rubbed my left arm to keep it warm and started walking; I had no destination in mind. I just needed to get some fresh air.

A woman walking directly in front of me stumbled and dropped all of her papers, which were caught on the wind and blown away into the air, "Shit," The woman cursed, she kneeled on the ground as she tried to gather those that remained. I knelt down beside her and helped collect the papers, when finished I returned the papers I had collected and rose to my feet once again. "Thank you, Miss," she hadn't looked up once; she just looked at her papers.

"Yeah… no problem," I continued walking onward, looking over my shoulder once to see if she was still kneeling there; but she was gone, lost in the crowd. Just as I turned my head forward once again a paper shot past my head. Had it been any closer I might have receive one of the worst wounds known to man, the paper-cut. The wind swooped the paper above the heads of people. It twirled and flew this way and that freely; _I wish that was me… _I watched in awe as the paper performed tricks, flipping, fluttering, and dancing on the wind. The paper eventually settled in the road and just before it had the chance to take flight once more, a car rolled over it, followed by another. I winced, _maybe not…_ But even after being run over and crumpled, the paper still rose from the ground and danced on the wind freely.

I shook my head and kept on walking. Though, I soon realized that either I lacked the grace to walk in a crowd or people were being awfully pushy today. Person after person brushed passed me hurriedly, many of them carrying the lingering scent of cigarettes along with them. It was here when I noticed how many people were smoking, never before had I noticed. I soon found myself making a pro and con list on smoking, though originally I intended to use this list to figure out why people smoke it morphed into a why-the-hell-shouldn't-I-smoke-? list. For cons I had that smoking was a known cause for lung cancer, strokes, and other bad and potentially life threatening things. As for pros… people who smoke look cool, everyone else is doing it, and Kira will probably kill me before smoking has a chance. That or all the junk food will clog my arteries before either has a chance.

Sure enough, when the next convenience store I passed advertised for cigarettes, I found myself opening the door. Walking to the counter, I purchased my first pack of cigarettes.

* * *

><p>Around 7:30 PM I found myself sitting on a park bench, fingering a cigarette while I watched the sun set. I don't know where all the time went, but it obviously wasn't coming back. I stuck one of the cancer sticks in my mouth as I searched my pockets for a lighter. I found myself returning to the reason why I left this afternoon… I couldn't help, but think what if it was <em>me <em>L was so close to. _Could it be possible that in his own in his own slightly disturbing and awkward way that maybe he might like me? Could it be possible in my own slightly disturbing and awkward way that I maybe might like him? Yeah… it could be. _The sun sank beneath the trees, but there was still some light left in the sky.

I pulled the cigarette out of my mouth when I realized I wasn't going to find a lighter in my pockets. I never bought one in the store, just the cigarettes. I stared at the cigarette in my hand and inspected it closely, "I guess it makes no difference that I forgot to buy a lighter when I don't even know which end to light," The stick was plain white up and down and there weren't any pretty pictures on the box to instruct me. The stick slid back into the carton snuggly with the rest of the smokes. The closed box of smokes looked good as new and so I tossed it in a nearby trash bin.

The quickly darkening sky was accompanied by cold winds that chilled me to the bone. I hoped the walk home wasn't as long as it was to get here from the hotel. With both of my arms wrapped around my torso to keep myself warm I started my walk home. After about ten minutes my body had had enough, I turned around and tried to hail a taxi, but none stopped. Car after car passed by and people on the street started to stare at me strangely. I was beginning to think that some of these taxis weren't full and I just wasn't doing it right. It only just now struck me that I'd never hailed a cab here before and tonight wasn't going to be my first time.

I let my arm fall limply at my side and walked away from the curb, gravitating more toward the middle of the side walk. I decided walking home would be faster than tapping my shoes three times and wishing for home.

After another five minutes of walking a car slowed down to a stop fifteen feet ahead of me. As soon as I saw it was a limo I knew who it was. Right, I was, when the one and only Watari stepped out of the vehicle to hold open the passenger door for me. "Good evening, Watari," I called out as I approached both him and the car, "How did you know it was me?" I stood by the door waiting for his reply, but I wouldn't wait there long. I could feel the heat from inside the car calling for me.

Watari smiled, "Not very many people dress as such," _That's right; I'm a walking Ryuzaki clone. _I gave a small laugh, entering the car, Watari shut the door behind me. This time I decided to sit on the far side of the limo; I was really glad that L sent Watari to give me a ride instead of having to walk all the way. The back of the limo was very warm; which was a nice change from the bone chilling winds nature had to offer.

Watari pulled up to the front of the hotel. Walking around the car, he opened the door for me, "Aren't you going to come up as well, Watari? Or do you have official Watari like business to tend to?"

"I'm afraid it's the latter, Miss Nadel," He offered his hand to help me out of the car and bid me adieu.

"Don't worry Watari, I'll have a stern talking to with Ryuzaki," I waved as he stepped back into the limo and drove off. Afterwards, I walked up the steps to the well heated hotel, noticing that the doorman was gone. Once nearing the elevator, I found myself waiting in line to get on the elevator, three of the four had broken down, now doesn't that sound like some sort of really strange coincidence that would usually only happen if an author of some story wrote it that way? I almost left to take the stairs, but my lazy nature told me that that was a very bad idea and so I waited with the group of people to get on the elevator.

It was probably the longest elevator ride of my life. Fifteen minutes, no joke, fifteen minutes of my life was wasted in a small room filled with an awkward silence. I was almost afraid that there might be some cruel being out there somewhere that would trap me inside the elevator with all these icky people. My luck had not run out! I walked out of the elevator triumphantly for I had survived the worst elevator ride of my life.

I ran my hand against the wall until I was in front of the right door. I slipped the card in the slot and the green light flashed, signifying that the door was unlocked. I stepped in; still holding the door open, I noted only Light and L were in the living room. "Hey, were did everyone go?" I looked around the room making sure that I hadn't missed anyone.

"Home," Light said look up from the files he was going through, much like I was doing the first few weeks I was working. It looked like he still had three more boxes to go.

The little gears in my brain started working. I knew why L had Watari pick me up, he wanted me here. I felt really stupid how long it took me to realize that I was in the wrong place. I was heading home and now I'm here. I felt like slapping myself in the face. Instead, I turned on my heel and headed straight for the door. "Ava, do you remember the conversation we had the first night you were here?"

_"If you go out that door…"_

"Ryuzaki, I thought we evolved from this," I whined, turning around to face him, "Next thing I know you're going to go back to the bondage," Light who had been focusing on the papers in front of him now looked up at Ryuzaki with a look on his face. Ryuzaki just stared back, offering no sort of explanation to Light. So he looked to me to clarify, "He thinks it's kinky," This, however, apparently was not what Light wanted to hear. Light shook his head and tried to ignore the two of us and focus on his work.

I looked at L, prepared to give him everything: puppy dog eyes, repeating 'please' a million times, asking Light to sit on his face while I ran… but it all came down to a stare. He just stared at me, "If you win you can go home," I knew he was talking about the stupid staring contest I told him about when we first met.

"I'm beginning to wish I never told you about this," I flopped down on the couch, "Anyways I told you, if you want me to play give me an offer that will make me want to play,"

Ryuzaki pulled a phone out of his pocket and held it up for me to see, "Hey, how did you!" I patted my pockets, but then remembered L had taken my phone last night when he wanted me to play a round with him. "Ugh, fine. State your terms,"

"You may have your phone back if you play. If you win, you may return home tonight. If you lose, you'll move into the Task Force HQ," L turned around his laptop and showed me a picture of a very tall building. It looked expensive.

I didn't know why I agreed to the contest. I could have easily paid for a new phone and really, one more day away from Slippers wouldn't kill me. Was it because the only two games we had played were unfair? Well, like I said, I don't know. I crossed my arms and closed my eyes as if I was annoyed, "Fine." I wasn't really, but he didn't need to know that.

And so the staring commenced. I figured I didn't really know who could stare the longest. The first time I won when L didn't even know he was playing, and the second time I was getting stitches put in. So_ maybe this will prove who the superior stare-er-er is. If that's even a word…_

I figured I was doing pretty well, L and I had been staring for a few minutes and nothing had gone wrong, which was a _very _good sign for me, seeing as luck is never on my side when I'm around L. I felt a tickle in my nose, _Smooth, Ava, you jinxed yourself. _I tried to ignore the tickle, but it was persistent. "Can I take a time out?"

"No," was his simple reply.

* * *

><p>So to save you the painful details, I sneezed. Ryuzaki was a horrible person and made me keep true to my word. He even went so far as to personally see that I made it to the new building. However, he was an amazing person by giving Slippers and I adjoining rooms (I insisted he needed his own space… though it wasn't really true)<p>

I started to feel a sense of familiarity as we shared an awkward moment on the elevator, we being Light, L, , and I. "Theoretically speaking, if I were to stay on this elevator and not get off when you did, what would you do?"

L matched me word for word, "I'd make you get off," He remembered our first night on the elevator.

I smiled when the elevator doors opened, "Well, since you put it that way," I ran off the elevator and down the hall, "Matusda! Yagami! Aziwa! I'm home!" I bellowed, I pushed through a door that seemed to open to the main room. It was big. Monitors covered the walls; a control panel that looked scarily complicated was placed in front of them. I was a little disappointed to see that there weren't any red buttons, probably for a good reason too. Who knows what someone might do if they saw one…

Bored with all of the technology, I flopped onto a couch to test it out, it was just as comfy, if not more so than the ones at the hotel. Ryuzaki and Light eventually walked into the room. On our way here L had said that Matsuda had collected Slippers and all of his toys and fun things as well as set him up in his room. I laughed at the thought a Slippers and Matsuda being near each other.

"Ryuzaki, what about my stuff, you didn't send Matsuda to get it did you?" I shivered at the thought of a man seeing my panties, though it must have had happened already if Watari knew what size to get.

"Watari is collecting your personal items,"

"I don't see why you wouldn't let me do it, I could have gotten my own stuff," I grumbled, crossing my arms and sinking into the couch.

Ryuzaki looked at me skeptically, "If I had let you gone, I doubt you would have returned of your own accord."

What can I say? When you're right, you're right; but boy, was he wrong. Though I would have never admitted it out loud… I wanted to stay.

**A/N: Firstly, do you guys think I let Ava fall out of character? I was worried about some of the things in this chapter, I was afraid that I might not be able to write some of the more serious moments of Ava because I'd ruin them. So if you cringed from something painfully terrible that you read let me know… and I really am trying not to be too hard on myself, but I worry. **

**So I looked up cigarettes in Japan and found that one of them (I don't know if all are) is just a plain white stick, no color at all. I thought that was interesting so I incorporated it into the story. **

**I also want to apologize, if anyone got confused with the whole ava remembering the night in the hotel. Just to explain if anyone didn't understand, Ava is basically seeing herself that night (no one else can see what she is seeing) and reliving the experience as an outsider… kind of. I don't really know why I put that in there… but it's there so… yeah.**

**I had a total twilight moment while I was writing this chapter. No, I'm not really a fan of twilight… but I don't exactly hate it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. ANYWAYS! It kind of went like this:**

_**It was no wonder why Misa was wrapped around Light; everything about him lured you in. His looks, his voice, even his scent! Yes, that **_**was **_**Channel by Coco Parfum- it was sexy, exciting, and feminine. He was the perfect killer. As if you could out smart him, he was top of his class! As if you could even suspect him, just look at those cute innocent puppy dog eyes. Are you scared? You should be.**_

**Or the typical why-the-hell-did-I-write-this-let-alone-let-anyone-see-anything-as-terrible-as-this?...**

"_**And then I said to the psychiatrist, 'That's not a chicken wing! That's my tail bone!'" Ava held the phone away from her and she laughed loudly. Her hand that was resting on her active diaphragm moved to her eyes to wipe away tears, "Anyways-"**_

_**The line was silent, "Slippers?" Ava called out, righting herself in the chair. "Slippers?" The line cut, "Did you just hang up on me? Slippers?"**_

**Anyways those who are familiar with twilight will understand the first one (hopefully). And now you all know why it takes so long for me to get these chapters done. Because I start writing something and it ends up incredibly ridiculous and weird. **


	11. I Could Really Use a Drink Right Now

**A/N: As always this update took incredibly long. The past months have been quite challenging. My grandfather had gotten very sick and passed away Oct 30****th****, 2012. I was very close to him so seeing him go had a huge impact on my life. I also had some major health concerns of my own and was hospitalized February 12, 2013. I will not give up on this story though. Now that I am back I will keep writing as long as one person requests it. Now that that has been said this is the part where I get all insecure and beg that you guys leave a review so I know how I did… ENJOY!**

**Chapter 11: I Could Really Use a Drink Right Now**

I reached forward for a tape dated a little less than two weeks ago. With the tape in hand I got up and trudged to the television with the VCR. As the night wore on my attention span became increasingly shorter; proof of it was the dozens of paper snowflakes scattered around the room, I started them around eleven. Around midnight I started slapping and pulling on my cheeks to stay awake. I pressed the rewind button on the VCR and fell back on the floor exhausted.

It took nearly all my will and determination to keep my eyes open. I couldn't go to sleep just yet. I scanned the room for something to distract me while I waited for the tape to rewind. My eyes settled on a corner of the ceiling; where a spider had made itself a home, spinning its web. It reminded me of a quote I had heard as a child, "Oh what a tangled web we weave if all we…" I tried to recite the quote but I found myself forgetting the final words. "Deceive…" there was a ringing in my ears, "Something to deceive," the harder I tried to recall the words, the louder the ringer became. None the less, I tapped my head still searching for the fleeting words.

"When first we practice to deceive," I jumped at the sound of Light's voice from above. I launched upwards, giving myself a head rush. I held my head in my hands; my hair fell over my face, covering it like a veil. I waited for everything to slow down, for my eyes to focus and for the world to stop spinning. I looked up, through the veil my hair had created, at Light- I had forgotten he was here.

He stood next to L, their wrists still chained together. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and pushed my hair back. I reached for my coffee cup and took a sip, grimacing as the cold drink slid down my throat. "Careful or you may just scare me to death," I warned jokingly, setting my cup back down on the coffee table. On my hands and knees I stretched like I'd seen Slippers do many times and slid onto my stomach. I kicked my feet back and forth and rested my head in the palms of my hands as I looked up at the two expectantly.

"You should sleep," Ryuzaki said offhandedly. I took note of the bags underneath his eyes. They were incredibly worse than mine, but if I kept working like this it wouldn't be long till I caught up with him.

"I'm almost done, just a couple more files and this tape and I'll finally be all caught up," _That is… until Kira kills another dozen or so people. _The tape had finally rewound its way to the beginning; a blue screen appeared on the TV. I fumbled for the remote under the coffee table and searched for the play button.

Ryuzaki and Light went to work on their computers. The sound of their fingers tapping on keys seemed almost rhythmic to my sleep deprived mind. The two shared an occasional grunt with each other every so often. I could hear L cracking his toe knuckles. I paused the tape five minutes into it. Every little thing was distracting me. I looked over at the two of them sitting on the couch and perfectly at ease with the fact that it was currently- I looked down at my watch- one in the morning.

I slid from my sitting position onto my side and placed my arm over my eyes. My will was slowly but surely draining. _Maybe I should call it a night… No I can't._

_I sat up and flinched. Right in front of me was L, situated on the floor in his odd way. "Yes?" I asked curiously, why was he invading my space? But he didn't respond with any words, he only leaned forward and brought his face to the side of mine. His hand began playing with my sleeve restlessly, distracting me momentarily from a light pressure against my cheek. "Huh?" I leaned away befuddled. As I began to turn my head in embarrassment I noticed those dark eyes. They seemed so uncertain, holding a question in their depths. _

_When I closed my eyes next I became very aware of the lips that pressed firmly against mine. The restless hand left my sleeve and tentatively found a place on my shoulder. We briefly parted, each taking a moment to gaze into the other's eyes. I could feel his warm breath on my face…_

_Some sort of bravery- or lust- must have struck us both simultaneously because soon our bodies were pressed firmly against each other. His tentative hand slowly crept up from my shoulder to my neck, eventually weaving his fingers through my hair. I could feel warmth radiating from his body, both relaxing and exciting me. _

_I straddled his lap and reached under his shirt, caressing his stomach up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around my body and laid me down on the floor; my skin burned with excitement. My chest heaved from lust. He pressed his body against mine, my hands moved to his back feeling each and every inch of him. Soon he became unrelenting in our kiss and his hand began to mimic mine, taking hold of my hip. I tried to break away from the kiss, and maintain the passion of the moment, but I was unable to. I was running out of air… I just needed to take a breath was all. I began to panic when I just couldn't get enough air-_

I jolted awake unable breathe. I thrust myself upwards, hearing a hiss from my lovely cat. Air met my burning lungs. _That bastard just tried to kill me…_ I switched on the light on my nightstand and glared at Slippers, "You've been plotting this since we moved here haven't you?" He just looked away and began licking his paw.

That's right, Sir Slippers turned out to be a diva at heart just like his human. He would not sleep in the room next door, not that he ever slept in his room in the past, but now he was taking it out on me. The night before it had been a knocked over lamp that hit me in the head and now he was trying to suffocate me with his fat rolls.

I looked over at the alarm clock and saw it was four in the morning. I opened the connecting doors to Slippers's and my room allowing him to roam freely while I was gone upstairs for the day. I quickly checked his food before and then I was out the door, heading to the elevator. Now that I've moved in I didn't even bother with getting dressed this early, cupcake pajama bottoms were completely acceptable when your 'boss' loves sweets… of course they do sometimes induce drooling bouts.

Speaking of which, I found myself wiping away a bit of my own drool as I recounted last night's dream. I couldn't tell you why I seemed to be attracted to the guy… he was strange, had 24/7 bed head despite never sleeping, had outrageously big bags, was a bit of a sociopath, especially egotistical, had subjected me to his fetish for bondage, etc. But I guess something in all of that and more had caught my attention.

My thinking didn't last very long… I was half asleep by the time I got off the elevator and three-fourths asleep by the time I entered the main room. All of the late nights and early wake-up calls were starting to get to me. I was, however, awake enough to make conversation with the rascal, "You're early," he commented, not even turning away from his laptop.

I trudged to the couch and plopped down next to L. The clock on his computer read 4:10, "Early?" honestly I was beginning to think I was so tired I couldn't even read a digital clock.

A quiet groan came from L's left; I looked over him to see it was a sleeping Light. I sat down on L's right. "I suppose I never did tell you; you'll be starting work at the same time as everyone else now,"

"Wait, so why have I been coming in so much earlier than them before?" I wasn't even paying too much attention to the conversation. At this point I was speaking for the sake of speaking.

"I was hoping you would be more willing to move in if you were waking up at unreasonable hours. The plan was to hold out until your will broke." His words were frank. _He wanted to break my will? How sweet…_ "Your morning starts at seven… have a pleasant two hours and forty-seven minutes of rest."

The cognitive part of my brain was gone. I had checked out the moment I heard something involving sleep. The one-sixth part of me that was still awake was barely aware that last night I had fallen asleep in a similar situation and woken up in my bed (and had a very nice dream). As I fell asleep once more, allowing dreams to wash over me I could barely make out words that sounded awfully similar to "Sweet dreams, Ava"

* * *

><p>I woke up. Yup, nothing special this time, just a perfectly normal morning: the sun was up, my hair was wrapped around my neck in a make-shift noose, a puddle of drool on the couch from sleeping with an open mouth, and lastly no people… or murder intentioned cats.<p>

I rose from the couch and readjusted my disheveled clothes. Matsuda and Yagami voices echoed through the hallway. They entered as I was relieving myself of a terribly uncomfortable wedgy, "Morning," I said sheepishly, with a nearly full night's sleep I couldn't bring myself to care.

I sat down next to Matsuda who was studying a monitor. "So, how's it going?" I pondered as I spun around in the office chair childishly.

"It's alright," a typical answer.

"So your apartment is filled with old pizza boxes and empty beer and soda cans, you haven't made your bed in six weeks because your dead beat by the time you get home, and your pretty sure there's a mouse living somewhere in your home, but the stupid mouse trap won't catch it?"

"How'd you know?"

I stopped spinning long enough to make eye contact with Matsuda, "I was right?" I chuckled.

"Hey, don't poke fun. At least I don't wait on hand and knee for an evil cat," Matsuda jabbed back, "Besides… there's no mouse,"

"Sure," I spun around in the chair in a full circle.

"What happened to your head?" I turned around to see who Yagami was talking to.

"I had a fight with the wife," It was Aziwa who answered the question. Surely enough, by his hairline was a bandage. But that wasn't where my focus had rested. What I noticed the most was that he entered the room in his boxers, his pants draped neatly over his left arm.

"You know, Aziwa," I looked away feeling heat from a blush rising to my cheeks. "Usually, when people have pants, they wear them."

"Yeah, well that stupid metal detector downstairs was being a pain," he excused, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish smile. He was probably slightly embarrassed that a woman, other than his wife, had seen him in his undergarments. Of course, Matsuda and Yagami didn't seem at all bothered by this situation. _Men…_

"And it never occurred to you to put them on before coming upstairs?" I found myself standing up to leave rather than allowing this awkward conversation to continue, "I think I'll go sit with them in the other room," I gestured to the monitor featuring Light, Misa, and Ryuzaki. It was more than less likely one of Misa's dates with Light.

* * *

><p>L and Light were currently in the middle of a passive aggressive argument. I only paid enough attention to the two to make sure they didn't tear each other's throats out. I found that this was a great time to just sit back, relax, and eat cake (I was getting used to L's fatty diet). If this was all I had to do in the morning I would definitely support Misa's future dates whole heartedly.<p>

I looked at Misa and the boys conversing and felt myself missing the company of females. I eyed Misa carefully, wondering if I would ever stoop so low as to seek her companionship… I was beginning to think yes. It was oddly depressing to only have males to speak with. Being involved in this type of investigation was problematic for my old social ways. _No friends, no outings, and no drinking… though I guess I told myself that I wasn't going to drink anymore. _

I ignored the warning signs of an escalating fight, no longer interested in them or my cake. I was too invested in my thoughts to care about either, so I just set my plate down on the coffee table. Ryuzaki slammed down onto the coffee table followed by Light just as I moved my hand back. I looked up from my lap and gazed at the two questioningly, my eyes widened in surprise. Thankfully the table wasn't made out of glass and the sturdy creation only creaked from their combined weight.

When the two righted themselves I could see cake smeared all along L's backside. I was about to scold them for rough housing, but Misa was already screaming her head off about the violence. So I sat down and allowed her the duty of dealing with the stubborn boys. Propping my legs on the table, I watched L return the favor to Light by smashing his foot down onto his cheek. Once again the two of them were sent to the ground in a heap. I wondered if this was how he beat the shit out of the men who roughed me up the night we met, _had he only smacked them around with his feet?_

As the fighting escalated, Misa backed off and hid behind the couch. Tears began to form in her eyes. Her fists were clenched in what I thought must be frustration and worry.

"Okay, that's enough!" I called out as they returned to their stances once more. Misa's attempt at getting them to settle down hadn't worked and being that I had no intention of giving either a chance to cause serious harm to the other, I stepped in. Despite my intervention they kept total eye contact… it was like being in the presence of a ticking time bomb, you can yell at it all you want to stop but in the end it's still going to blow. I quickly tried to ease the tension, in hopes of avoiding a serious fight, "We are all fighting for the same cause, to bring down Kira, not each other,"

Light and Ryuzaki seemed to be calming down, their postures relaxing. I sighed, relieved that I wouldn't have to deal with two egotistical bastards fighting with each other. "Now if you need me, I'll be-" Something to quiet for me to hear was muttered and the tension snapped. Everything I had said went in one ear and out the other. Legs and arms were being thrown left and right, and soon the two were back on the ground wrestling each other, "Listen! Maybe you two need a break from each other! You've been attached by the wrists 24/7 for how long now?" I eased my way closer cautiously. I didn't want to be directly involved in this fight.

I bent over and put my hands on both of their shoulders. I tried to pull them apart, but Light turned around a back handed me. I fell on my ass and stared straight at Light in shock. The evil, calculating look that I had seen in his eyes once before was back. My heart skipped one beat… then two. Those were the eyes of a killer and those eyes were trained on L. I don't think he even realized that he had hit me… he was just possessed with the need to fight with L.

"That is it!" I cried out from the top of my lungs. I don't know what brought on the change in Light, but I couldn't wait for something to happen. "Stop it _now!_" I had finally caught their attention. They had frozen in place; L was beneath Light, one hand holding Light's wrist away from his face, the other making to punch Light.

I jumped to my feet, searching for something to say. "What good are you?" I spat at the two of them, despite most my anger being directed at Light. With the heat of the fight cooling down the cruelness left Light's eyes. "What good are either of you?" When I saw Light's eyes I had been truly frightened… but now they were back to normal as if nothing had happened. And the boys stared at me, waiting for me to say something more. But I didn't know what to stay… I was scared. So I left… well at least I started to.

"I read an article about this… I believe it's called PMS." It was a whisper, but I heard it.

My eyes zeroed in on Ryuzaki, it was just the kind of thing he would say. I was furious, "I am _not_ PMSing!" I screamed at him, my face reddening in anger. After having just been worried about his safety he flung that kind of insult at me, "Do you think you two are the only ones upset?" I lowered my voice, but it still was not a pleasant tone. "_Poor_ Ryuzaki, the greatest detective the world has ever known might have been wrong about the identity of Kira is now absolutely depressed. And let us not forget _Light_, who has so generously put aside his time to work on the investigation, now disappointed in the great almighty L because he realized L is only _human_." I pointed out their selfish thoughts.

I took a calming breath and tried to keep my voice from getting too harsh, "I don't think I've ever met two more selfish people in my life. Did either of you even realize that a third party was injured in your fight?" I pointed out my right cheek which was surely red and swelling already. "Did the two of you ever care to think about Aziwa? He's walking on egg shells trying to keep his relationship with his wife and child together. Or what about Matsuda, he tries really hard, but all anyone does is walk over him and treat him like he's stupid. And somehow both of them show up to work each day with a smile on their face while you two mope around," I took a deep breath, "And now I'm the one PMSing because you expect me to sit here and be like _her_," I gestured to Misa who was curled up behind the couch with tears in her eyes and mascara running down her cheeks, "And Watch you two hurt each other and those around you." I whipped around and yanked the door open aggressively. I paused for a moment to put an end to my overly dramatic monologue, "Well I won't," I walked out and slammed the door behind me.

The remainder of the hour was spent locked in my room, taking my anger out on L's wallet. I sat in bed and ordered every pay per view and movie I could find. Just to rub it in his face in the most childish way I could, I only watched one. I estimated tonight's spending cost him somewhere around 50,000 yen ($558.49). So it wouldn't burn a hole in this guy's seemingly endless wallet, but at least it would get the point across.

* * *

><p>It was probably around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I hadn't really left my room much, still angry at L and Light. It turned out that my cheek didn't swell but there was a light bruise left, small and easy enough to conceal.<p>

I crept into the main room of the building, where I knew L would surely be. When I entered I saw him gazing at a blank computer screen. Next to him Light was passed out; either taking a cat nap or having been drugged by L… I wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter.

"Do you feel like you failed, L?" I asked, leaning on the door frame. He jumped slightly, taken off guard. I wondered if he had been sleeping as well. I began to wonder when L ever did sleep… he always worked so tirelessly.

When his dark eyes met mine I pushed myself off the door frame and walked over to him. They were different… sullen, no, they were drained. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'I may have lost the battle, but I will win the war.'?" Ryuzaki remained silent. I closed his lap top and pushed it out of the way, to make room for me to sit on his desk. "You should try applying it to yourself right now… after all, you are the world's top three detectives. Are you just going to let a little bump in the road bring you down?"

Still, he was silent.

"Is it the cable bill that's bumming you out?" there was a hint of a smile at that. He knew what I had done. I rented everything, from Disney to Porn. "There we go… there's that perverted genius of a freak I've been looking for," my insulting personality probably came off too strong because L reverted to silence and just stared at me blankly. I didn't know how to do this whole comforting thing. I thought of wrapping an arm around his shoulder and rubbing his back like one would do with a child… I shuddered at the idea; it would be too awkward.

"Come on," I stood up. Again, he just stared. "Come on, get up," he held up his chained wrist in response this time. "Is he drugged or is it natural?" I nodded at Light who seemed to be passed out in the most uncomfortable of positions. He slept on his side with his feet thrown up on the desk and his arm wrapped around his head so the chain would reach.

"I may have had Watari slip something into his lunch," He said smugly. If this was for getting back at Light for this afternoon, I wondered what was awaiting me for the cable bill… I threw the thought from my mind and refocused on cheering up L.

"Well then," I slipped a key out of my pocket and unlocked L's cuff and reattached it to a desk leg. "If you can steal my keys and make copies, so can I. However, considering you never sleep I just asked Watari for the spare," There was a look of contempt in his eyes as he begrudgingly got up.

"Now come on, you have no more excuses," I grabbed his hand and dragged him out onto the balcony. I stepped forward to the railing and the wind quickly took hold of my hair, sending it about in every direction, mostly in my face. I tried to tame it while I beckoned for L to join me by the railing, "Come on," I shivered through my words. I wouldn't blame him if he just turned around and went back inside… it was cold.

He didn't though; he slowly made his way to the railing, and stared at me. Waiting for whatever it was I had to show him. I stepped behind him and turned him around to face the world outside of his office, "Now look; what do you see?" I returned to my place next to him. I saw past the other sky scrapers was a gleaming sun just hours away from setting. It was quiet, but the noise of cars blocks away still echoed to us. Really there wasn't much to look or listen too… but I thought that Ryuzaki might need a little fresh air.

L just looked down at me, his dark eyes questioning the purpose of this exercise. Being that there was no real purpose I let it go, "You never answered my question Ryuzaki… do you feel as if you failed?" I knew L would never admit to such feelings, his pride would never allow it. As I expected there was only silence.

I turned my head to the side, looking out at the city that was so close, yet so far away. I could feel Ryuzaki's eyes still on me. He grabbed my chin and brought his face closer, "What the-" This reminded me all too much of my dream from last night. My heart began to pick up its pace.

"Is this from this morning?" he asked, but didn't wait for a response. He released my chin, "It's cold, I'm going to go back inside if that is all you had to say," I frowned, but L had already turned away and walked toward the building. I wish he would have given me more of a chance to cheer him up… _I wonder if the bruise upset him more…_ He paused before entering the building, his hand on the wall he turned his head and left me with one word, "Yes,"

My head dropped and I stared down at my feet. I already knew the answer to my question, but never would I have thought he'd willingly answer it. I leaned on the railing, refusing to go back inside; I didn't want to follow Ryuzaki back in. I rubbed my cheek, where he had just previously inspected it… I hadn't thought anything I said before storming out on Light and Misa's date had been retained. I didn't think he would notice the bruise, but then again he is a detective… I guess the more reasonable thought would be; I didn't think he would care. _But he did…_

I could feel the cool air through my thin shirt and without a jacket or sweater of any kind I was sure to catch a cold. Regardless, even if I had gone inside I would still be cold from the stinging chill of that singular word.

_ "Yes,"_

Sighing, I shook my head and went back inside and to my room. I laid down in bed and stared at the ceiling. I noticed a camera moving, pointing itself directly at me. In response I gave it the middle finger. "Oh great! All we need now are some bondages and a blind fold."

I went back to staring at the ceiling and recalled the events that took place today, Light is a killer, he's Kira… whether its subdued right now… it makes no difference, that part of him is still there. I saw it. _God, I could really use a drink right now…_

**A/N: You guys, it's confession time. I try to write things based on experience (not that what has happened in this story has happened to me, which is completely untrue) when I write I try to describe based on what I know and what I've learned. AND BY GOLLY THIS ROMANCE THING! Yes, that's right I'm sixteen and I haven't even so much as touched hands with a male other than a relative. And I just want you all to know that I'm freaking out over this. I want this to work, but I have no ideas on how this works. Please pardon my lack of experience, if only I was blessed with seductive abilities… but alas the world is a cruel **_**cruel**_** place. **

**Anyways I hope you all liked the chapter leave your comments, thoughts, opinions, anything really. It really does help no matter what it is you're saying (unless you're being a troll). And come on you guys! It's so easy to leave reviews now with the new update! Pretty please with some tomato juice on top? **

**I hope it wasn't a crappy update! I'm crossing my fingers right now.**

**On another note… I wrote a new summary and I was wondering what you guys thought. I don't really like the title of the story either, but I don't want to change it out of fear that you guys won't be able to find it. Well here is the new summary I'll probably change it like a week after I've posted the chapter.**

**NEW SUMMARY: "I don't know about you, but I won't sit around and wait to die," It was pathetic; his eyes were so dull, lacking the life they used to have. He looked tired, L never looked tired. Ava never had any interest in the Kira investigation; now it seems like she can't keep herself out of it. It just came down to one thing, she wouldn't sit back and watch someone die L/OC LxOC**


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